Forgotten Melody
by Mayumi Selnia
Summary: After being gone for 4 years, Kirari Tsukishima, a famous idol, finally returned. But things aren't the same as they were before and everything has changed. To make it worse, Hiroto Kazama has no memories of her. What happened?
1. Chapter 1: Arrival

**Forgotten Melody**

Chapter 1: Arrival

"Hello?" answered Kumoi-san.

"Okay…I got it…I'll be there soon," she answered professionally.

Kumoi-san prepared her shiny, black car before she left the busy building. The Muranishi Entertainment Company had always been busy ever since the news of the return of a famous idol came out. Phones would always ring because people wanted to have an interview session. You would always hear the employees typing to reply to the requests of broadcasting companies. The hectic environment had been like that for almost a month now.

Kumoi-san drove down the highway to the airport to pick up the returning idol who left Japan to be an entertainer in America for almost 4 years. The city's busy roads didn't keep Kumoi-san from being there on time. She arrived exactly when the returning idol came out of the baggage claim area.

"Kumoi-san!" the idol yelled, dropping her bags and suitcases on the tiled floor of Narita International Airport.

"Kirari!" Kumoi-san exclaimed as Kirari hugged her out of nowhere.

"I missed you so much, Kumoi-san!" she said, after the long, welcoming hug.

"You've grown into a young lady, Kirari. Last time I saw you, you were an undeveloped 15-year-old girl. Now, look at you! You're 19! You even have boobs now!" Kirari's former manager said, ecstatic to see the idol.

"Don't tease me, Kumoi-san!" Kirari playfully said.

The two laughed and everybody in the airport looked at them. After they realized that they've been in the airport for half an hour, talking, the two hurriedly went into the car to avoid the paparazzi.

"That's a nice disguise, Kirari. The paparazzi didn't even realize who you were," Kumoi-san said, concentrating on her driving, but took a glance at the rare view mirror to see Kirari, who was sitting on the back.

"Thank you, but it's not a disguise," Kirari said, taking her hat and sunglasses off.

"You mean to say, you dyed your hair a darker shade of brown?"

"Yes, ma'am,"

"Was it for a movie?"

"No, I just felt like surprising someone special here," Kirari replied, blushing.

Kumoi-san had the idea of who it was, so she smiled for she understood how Kirari felt.

"Oh, okay," she said.

Kumoi-san and Kirari finally arrived at the Muranishi Entertainment Company where there were no paparazzi.

"Where are the paparazzi?" Kirari asked, surprised that they weren't there.

"They probably went to the airport to wait for you," Kumoi-san said, her professional character returning right before they entered the building.

Kirari kept her hat and shades on as she walked down the busy hallways of the building. Nobody noticed that it was her.

Kumoi-san knocked on the chairman of the company's big door. After knocking for many times, she didn't hear anything, so she proceeded into the huge room anyways.

Kirari followed behind as she looked around the room. She knew there were a lot of changes in the room. There were more platinum, gold, and silver records hanging on the wall. She even saw a picture of herself before she left Japan. Then, she saw a picture of a boy band. She stared at it as she dozed off into her own fantasy world, but was interrupted by a loud yell.

"Kirari!" the chairman yelled, rushing to hug the surprised idol.

"Chairman Muranishi!" Kirari exclaimed, hugging him tight.

"I can't believe you're back!" he ecstatically said, looking at Kirari from head to toe.

"Yes, sir," Kirari smiled, noticing the changes to the chairman.

His ginger hair still stayed the same, but he no longer wears his glasses.

"So he did get a laser eye surgery," she thought, very happy for the chairman.

"Oh, I'm sorry Kirari," the chairman said as looked at his wristwatch to check the time.

"But the boys have a recording session today," he apologetically said, looking back at Kirari.

"The boys?" she thought, alarmed of who the chairman was talking about.

"So I have to go, but I promise that all of us will go to a restaurant for your welcome party. I'll bring the boys, too," he said, putting on his coat to protect himself from the cold winter air blowing outside.

"See ya," Chairman Muranishi closed the door, leaving Kirari and Kumoi-san behind.

"Kumoi-san," Kirari said, breaking the silence in the room.

"Hm?" Kumoi-san turned to look at Kirari.

"Let's go," Kirari smiled, giving Kumoi-san a clue on what they will do next.

* * *

"Redo it, both of you!" Chairman Muranishi ordered the two idols.

"I'm too tired, Chairman," complained the dark haired Hiroto.

"I'm sorry, but as soon as this is over, we'll all be going to a restaurant," the chairman said, arranging the settings for their microphones.

"A restaurant? Is there something special going on today?" asked the other member of the boy band, Seiji, who has the blonde hair.

"It's a surprise," the chairman smirked, tapping the microphones to check if it was working.

Seiji and Hiroto looked at each other, both shrugging their shoulders for neither one of them knew what was going on.

"Okay, start," Chairman Muranishi turned on the music and the idols put on their headphones to prevent any interruptions from their surroundings, only hearing the music.

Seiji and Hiroto closed their eyes to feel the music and to be able to focus on singing it accurately. When Hiroto opened his eyes, he saw someone behind the chairman that made him stop singing due to shock.

When Seiji realized that Hiroto wasn't singing, he opened his eyes to find the frozen Hiroto.

"Hiroto?" Seiji called his name, but Hiroto didn't answer.

The chairman realized that the two weren't singing, so he turned off the music to yell at the two.

"What are you two—"

"It's you," interrupted Seiji as he saw the person behind the chairman.

When the chairman turned around, he found out that the cause of the two boys' shock was none other than Kirari.

Kirari didn't say anything, but smiled at Hiroto and Seiji, who was still inside the recording booth.

Seiji was the first one to come out and hug Kirari.

"Kirari-chan!" he said, lifting her once petite body.

"Seiji-kun! I missed you so much!" she said, looking into Seiji's deep blue eyes.

"Hiro—Huh?" Seiji was about to tell Hiroto to come out of the booth, but found no one inside.

"Where'd he go?" Seiji asked, looking around everywhere.

"I thought so," Kumoi-san said to herself, as she watched Seiji, Kirari and Chairman Muranishi look for him.


	2. Chapter 2: Rain

**Forgotten Melody**

Chapter 2: Rain

"Where did he go?" Kirari asked, wondering why Hiroto left.

"Hiro-kun probably already went home. He was too tired from the recording session this early morning, you see," Seiji said, bailing Hiroto out.

"Oh, I see," said Kirari, disappointed.

"Let's go eat lunch outside, Kirari-chan! My treat!" Seiji said, cheering her back up.

"Okay!" Kirari exclaimed, quickly recovering from her disappointment.

Chairman Muranishi and Kumoi-san didn't object to the two's decision.

"Well, the Chairman and I…uhh…have to talk about some important matters," Kumoi-san said, turning to the Chairman.

"We do?" asked the clueless Chairman.

Kumoi-san lightly elbowed the Chairman, but still made him squeal.

"Hey!" he exclaimed.

The eyeglasses-wearing manager gave Chairman Muranishi the look which silenced him from saying anything else.

"Oh, okay," Kirari said, smiling.

"Don't forget to wear your disguises. They're in the closet and remember…you must not be found together by the public! With your sudden return, many rumors can surface without even the truth behind," Kumoi-san said, clenching her fist.

"Thank you, Kumoi-san," Seiji smiled as he and Kirari said their goodbyes to their managers.

The two went to their separate dressing rooms in the studio and checked their closet. There, they found their own clothes to use to go incognito.

As she put on her disguise, Kirari noticed the old clothes she used to wear before she left for America. She picked it up and spread it on the table, looking at how small it was and realizing how much she has grown. She also reminisced the past.

Kirari remembered that day when she and Hiroto went downtown with Seiji, but got separated from him. So, they went to the beach to look for him, where they got wet from the waves. Kirari even remembered how Hiroto held her tight as a group of girls passed by while talking about how they made a cute couple without knowing that they were the famous idols.

"Hiroto-kun," Kirari worriedly muttered as she thought of what's going to happen to her and Hiroto.

Seiji knocked on the door, interrupting Kirari's thinking.

"Kirari-chan, are you ready?" asked Seiji, still waiting behind the door.

"Oh, yeah. I'll be right there."

Kirari picked up her old clothes and shoved them back in the closet. She applied some juicy lipgloss onto her pink lips and smiled at her reflection. She opened the door and found Seiji.

"That's a good disguise, Kirari-chan," Seiji said, looking at Kirari from head to toe.

She wore big, round glasses and tied her long, brown hair up into a ponytail. Over her head, she wore a baseball cap that said 'SHIPS' on it.

"You too, Seiji-kun," smiled Kirari, also examining Seiji.

Seiji wore a sunglasses and a blue baseball cap to cover his voluptuous blonde hair.

The two stepped out of the building together, keeping distances that did not seem suspicious from each other. They walked to the train station and went downtown.

They entered a restaurant with not very many people go to so they can keep their identities from the paparazzi. They looked at the restaurant where they usually go to without their disguises and found a swarm of paparazzi with their cameras ready to be filled with their images.

"This place has changed a lot since I was gone," Kirari said, looking outside the window, noticing that the sky was turning gray.

"Yeah," Seiji agreed, taking his sunglasses off.

The two idols ordered their food, giving some tips to the waitress for not blowing their cover off.

"You've changed, too, Seiji-kun," Kirari exclaimed, returning back to the topic.

"Not by much, though. Now, you have changed tremendously," Seiji smiled.

"Is it a bad thing?" worried Kirari.

"No, not really. When you left a year after your debut here, you were just a small 15 year old, but now…look at you! You're 19 years old and turning 20 soon! You're a woman now!

"Thank you, Seiji-kun. In just 4 years, everything has changed so quickly, huh. Including…Hiroto-kun," Kirari said, her smile turning into a light frown.

"Kirari-chan, you must understand that Hiroto-kun had experienced a lot of things when you were gone," Seiji replied.

The waitress returned with their orders. Kirari ordered a pasta Alfredo while Seiji ordered fillet mignon. They both ordered iced tea for their beverage.

"What happened while I was gone?" Kirari asked as soon as the waitress left.

"I wish I could, but I can't. It's not my decision on whether or not you should know," Seiji replied after taking a bite of the food he ordered.

Kirari was now full of curiosity, wondering if Hiroto will be able to tell her the truth.

"Do you think he still remembers me? Hiroto-kun?" asked Kirari, sipping her tea.

"That, I don't know."

"How come?"

"Well, he rarely talked about you when you were gone. He was more focused on his music, career…and…his girlfriend," Seiji replied even though he didn't want to finish his sentence.

"His what?" Kirari exclaimed, almost spilling her drink.

"He has a girlfriend," Seiji answered.

"Who?"

"Fubuki Todou."

"But, how could that be? Th-that's impossible!" the surprised Kirari shouted, attracting people to look at their table.

"Shh, Kirari-chan. Quiet down, you're making a scene," Seiji quietly said, calming her down.

"But, I don't understand!" Kirari protested.

"Hey, isn't that Seiji Hiwatari?"

"Who is that with him?"

"Is it his girlfriend?"

Their cover was blown off and they had no choice but to run. Seiji grabbed Kirari's hand and they ran out of the restaurant, leaving enough money for the food they ordered at the table.

Sooner or later, they attracted the paparazzi and had to run faster to the train station. Unfortunately, they went the other way, making the distance to the train station longer than it already was.

Seiji and Kirari continued running, not pausing for anything. Suddenly, the rain started pouring, sending the paparazzi to find shelter for their cameras. They had no choice but to give up their chase for the two idols. This time, the two got lucky.

When they reached a dark alley near the main road, they hid there, waiting for the rain to simmer down.

"Are you...okay…Kirari-chan?" asked Seiji, panting.

Kirari nodded, not being able to talk to catch her breath.

Out of nowhere, a black car honked at them. Kirari and Seiji looked to see who it was and found Fubuki on the passenger seat beside Hiroto, who was driving the car.

"Hiroto…kun," Kirari muttered, surprised to see that he was actually sitting down beside Fubuki.

"Kirari, Seiji, hurry! You'll get soaked," Fubuki said, motioning them to go in.

"Let's go, Kira—"

"No."

"Huh?" Seiji asked, surprised from her straight-up reply.

"But you'll get—"

"Go ahead. I have to go somewhere, anyways," Kirari said, looking down at the puddle she was stepping on.

"But—"

"Go! Just…go," Kirari said, pushing him away.

Seiji didn't want to upset Kirari so he walked to the vehicle even if he didn't want to.

"Here," Seiji said giving Kirari his phone.

"Call Chairman Muranishi's office phone when you get to your destination. I'll be there to pick up and answer, okay?" Seiji ordered.

Kirari nodded and smiled at Seiji under the pouring rain. Before Seiji left her, he kissed her forehead, leaving Kirari surprised, yet warm.

Seiji stepped in the black car, not looking back.

"What about Kirari?" asked Fubuki, locking the doors and putting her window up.

"She has to go somewhere," replied Seiji wiping his face with the towel Fubuki prepared for them.

"Well, let's go," Fubuki said, turning to Hiroto.

Fubuki noticed Hiroto clenching the steering wheel. She wasn't surprised, but was threatened of something that came up in her mind, but she relaxed and looked at the droplets rolling down the windshield.


	3. Chapter 3: Accident

**Forgotten Melody**

Chapter 3: Accident

All alone, Kirari walked under the rain, not minding the freezing temperature. The only thing that was in her mind was what she heard from Seiji and what she saw in the black car.

"Hiroto-kun," she muttered, his face in her mind.

She still couldn't believe that he and Fubuki are together. Kirari remembered how Hiroto hated Fubuki for being arrogant and trying to cheat on the contest she and Kirari joined.

Kirari kept on walking under the rain, lifeless. Suddenly, she fell on the ground after a girl with an umbrella ran into her.

"I'm so sor— Kirari-chan?" asked the girl, taking a more careful look at Kirari's face.

Kirari looked up and she saw her friend from a long time ago, Hikaru.

"Hikaru…chan?" she said, still had no emotions.

Hikaru tried to help Kirari up, but when she almost stood up perfectly, she fell to the ground.

"Kirari-chan! Kirari-chan!" Hikaru yelled, trying to wake her up.

* * *

"Where…am…I?" Kirari asked, slowly opening her eyes.

"You're at my apartment, Kirari-chan. You've been asleep for 3 hours," Hikaru said, patting Kirari's head with a cold, wet towel.

"What…happened to me?"

"You have a slight fever."

"I do?"

"Yeah. Probably from jetlag and being soaked under the rain. It's already dark and the rain is still strong. You can stay here until the rain stops. I'll take care of you," Hikaru kindly said, fixing the nightstand beside Kirari.

"Thank you, Hikaru-chan," Kirari replied, trying to smile.

"Here, I'll help you up. The soup I made is done, so you can eat and take your medicine," Hikaru smiled, helping Kirari sit up her bed.

Hikaru went to the kitchen to get the soup she prepared while Kirari sat on Hikaru's bed, examining the apartment. The apartment wasn't too big, but it wasn't too small either. Then, she noticed that it has no rooms. The living room and the bedroom aren't separated. Instead, the bed was on top of a platform that rose three stair steps from the actual floor level. Hikaru's bathroom was on the top right corner from the bed and the kitchen was separated by a door less way.

Kirari looked for any framed pictures, and she did find them. On the right wall, Hikaru's pictures from when she and Kirari worked together as 'Kira Pika' were hanged. On the wall in front of the platform, the wall that separated the kitchen from the living room and the dining room, was a big, framed picture of Hikaru's family.

Kirari looked to her left where she saw a framed newspaper article on her wall. Kirari got up with all her energy to read the article and examine the picture with it.

"Idol Hikaru Mizuki involved in a car accident with her family; idol injured; family dead," Kirari quietly read, gasping as soon as she finished reading the title.

Surprised, all she was able to do was to look at the picture. The picture showed a totaled car in the highway with some blood running down the road and ambulance and police cars on the side of the highway. Suddenly, Kirari heard Hikaru's footsteps, so she returned back to her bed in a hurry.

"Here you go," Hikaru smiled, placing the soup on the nightstand.

Hikaru grabbed a chair and spoon and sat beside Kirari to feed her.

"Thank you," Kirari said, sipping the warm soup that trickled down her throat.

"It's mushroom soup. My mom taught me how to cook it," Hikaru stated, scooping some more.

Kirari kept eating with the help of Hikaru until she noticed the scar on Hikaru's right hand.

"Is that from the accident?" asked Kirari before making Hikaru lift up the spoon once more.

Hikaru nodded, placing the spoon down with its contents returning back to the bowl.

"It was a night just like this when the accident happened two years ago. A truck from the road on the right slammed into our car, sending the whole thing to flip. The car kept on rolling, hitting two other cars. I was sitting down with my little brother beside me in the back seat," Hikaru remembered, looking outside the window.

"I opened my eyes and I saw blood. After that, I fell into a deep sleep. When I opened my eyes, I realized I was in a hospital. I looked to my right and I saw my manager. She explained to me what happened."

* * *

"You were in a coma for 3 months," Hikaru's manager said, helping her sit up.

"I…was?"

Hikaru's manager nodded, sitting back down on the stool beside Hikaru's bed.

"The doctors said that you wouldn't have been able to live if the truck hit you on your side of the car. Luckily, you just had some fractured bones in your body," her manager explained.

"What's wrong with my hand?" Hikaru asked, looking at her bandaged right hand.

"It had a long, deep cut from the glass that shattered on your brother."

"Oh yeah, I remembered how I put my hand over his head to protect him," she thought in her mind, smiling.

"What happened to my little brother and my parents?"

"They're…gone."

"What?" Hikaru's eyes grew wider and started getting watery.

"They received the most impact."

"No."

"I'm sorry, Hikaru."

"No! No…no! No! This can't be happening! No!" Hikaru cried, denying the truth that was in front of her.

"No!" her voice echoed in her mind as she remembered what happened 2 years ago.

* * *

"I lost my mother, my father, and my little brother," Hikaru said, finishing her story that she remembered through her mind.

"I…I'm so…sorry…Hi-Hikaru-chan," Kirari said, tears running down her face.

"Kirari-chan, why are you crying?" Hikaru asked, surprised that Kirari was crying with her.

"Because…it's s-so…sad," Kirari cried, wiping her tears away.

Hikaru sat on the bed and hugged Kirari, astonishing her.

"It's okay, Kirari-chan. I've come to accept the truth. The truth that they're gone, but are still here with me. They're still here to protect me and look over me," Hikaru said, rubbing the back of Kirari's head to comfort her.

"You're a strong girl, Hikaru-chan," Kirari said.

"I wish I can be like you."

"You are strong, Kirari-chan. You just need to find that strength in you and let it out," Hikaru explained, looking at her.

"Thank you, Hikaru-chan," smiled Kirari, wiping her tears away.

Hikaru tucked Kirari in her bed and waited for her to sleep. As soon as Kirari was fast asleep, Hikaru got up and looked out the window.

"I miss and love you, Mom, Dad, Kiseki," she smiled, a tear slipping out of her eye as she looked at the bright moon that shone on her.


	4. Chapter 4: Forgotten

**Forgotten Melody**

Chapter 4: Forgotten

"Stay strong, Kirari-chan!" motivated Hikaru as she and her manager dropped Kirari off to the Chairman's building.

"Thank you, Hikaru-chan," smiled Kirari, giving her a hug.

"Oh, and tell Chairman Muranishi and Kumoi-san that I said hi, okay?" Hikaru asked as she got in the car.

Kirari nodded as she waved goodbye to her old friend. Hikaru's manager drove off, leaving Kirari alone. She quickly looked from side to side to check if there were any paparazzi that followed them around. Luckily, she hasn't been found.

Kirari took the elevator from the parking lot to the fifth floor where the company's idols' lounge is.

On the way up, the elevator stopped on the first floor. Kirari looked at the door to find Hiroto coming in, making her smile in excitement.

"Good morning, Hiroto-kun," she cheerfully said.

"I prefer it for you to not be too familiar with me, Tsukishima-san," Hiroto coldly replied.

"Eh?"

"Never mind. It seems that you have forgotten your manners since you've been away for a long time," he said getting off on the floor Kirari was getting off of.

"But—"

"Hiroto!" Fubuki yelled, interrupting Kirari as she got out of the elevator.

"Good morning, Kirari," she smiled as if nothing happened in the past.

Kirari bowed, but did not say anything. She watched Fubuki walk away with Hiroto with their arms interlocking.

"Oh, Kirari, you might want to follow us. There's a meeting for all of this company's top idols at the lounge," Fubuki said, turning back to look at Kirari.

Kirari walked faster to catch up to the couple. She walked beside Fubuki, who had grown into a complete woman.

"Her chest and behind has grown, but her waist has become skinnier. Fubuki looks more of a woman than I am even if my body has developed," Kirari observed, looking at Fubuki from head to toe.

"Is there something wrong, Kirari?" Fubuki asked, looking at the idol.

"Oh, nothing," Kirari said, putting up an awkward smile.

When they entered the lounge, Kirari found Seiji and Akane chatting while sipping a cup of tea. She also saw Erina, who has matured a lot ever since she last saw her. Usually, Erina would be walking around to convince everybody that she was the best idol, but to Kirari's surprise, she was calmly sitting down, reading a magazine.

"I think everybody's here," Chairman Muranishi announced as Kirari, Hiroto, and Fubuki entered.

"As you all know, Kirari-chan has returned from America. Of course, we will have a big comeback concert for her," Chairman Muranishi announced, pointing to Kirari.

"For the big comeback, we will need all of you to perform one song. As for SHIPS, you are to sing one, too," Chairman Muranishi explained.

"Is it clear?" he asked, glancing at everybody.

"Umm, Chairman, how many songs do you want me to sing?" asked Kirari, raising her hand up.

"Three. One upbeat and one slow song from when you were still a young idol, and one new song that you must write yourself," he explained, sitting down.

"Oh, okay," Kirari said, worried about writing the song.

"Dismissed!" the Chairman said, walking out of the lounge to return to his office.

"It's good to see you again, Kirari-chan," Akane said, smiling.

"Thank you, Akane-chan," Kirari smiled as Akane walked out with her manager.

"I'm sorry, Kirari-chan! I'm really really sorry! I know I shouldn't have left you, so I'm really sorry. I hope you forgive me! I'm really—"

"Calm down, Seiji-kun," Kirari said, interrupting Seiji's long apology.

"I'm sorry."

"No need. I was able to meet Hikaru-chan, so thank you," Kirari smiled, putting her hand on Seiji to feel his smooth cheek.

Seiji smiled and hugged Kirari tightly, shocking yet making her smile. When Fubuki saw this, she looked at Hiroto who was looking down on the floor with his free hand clenched. She held onto his hand tighter to give him comfort.

Everybody in the company was busy as they prepared for Kirari's comeback concert. SHIPS rehearsed their old song 'Love X Mega'. Fubuki, Akane, and Erina all rehearsed their new songs and dance steps. Kirari, however, had to start thinking about her new song.

She stayed in the lounge with lots of paper, music sheets, pencil, and eraser along with a cup of tea to warm her and help her think.

Kirari crumpled up and threw her 46th paper in an hour after she started brainstorming on the song's lyrics. She started scratching her head as if it would help her.

"If only Naa-san was here," Kirari pouted.

Suddenly, the lounge's door opened and Hiroto came from his dance rehearsal break. He wiped his sweat with a white towel hanging on his shoulder. Kirari observed him as he gulped down an energy drink.

"Wow. Hiroto-kun has changed a lot!" she thought.

"His muscles have grown, his hair has grown silkier and his height…wow," she dreamily thought.

"Oh, I know! I'm going to ask him to help me!" she told herself, a light bulb lighting up in her head, giving her the idea.

"Hiroto-kun, will you help me with writing a song?" asked Kirari, running up to him.

"I can't help you with that," he said, trying to get away from her.

"But you've helped me before, remember?"

"No, I don't remember! I just met you three days ago. Now, you're asking me to help you write your own comeback song! You're even calling me by my first name! Don't you have some decency?" Hiroto yelled, going off on Kirari.

He quickly walked away, leaving Kirari in remorse and depression.

"He has…forgotten about me…hasn't he?" she asked herself, her tears flowing out.

She got up and walked slowly back to the desk where she was writing her song. Kirari remembered how Hiroto helped her write 'Koi Hanabi' for the contest she was in.

* * *

"Look, I've never really written a song before," Hiroto said as he looked into Kirari's azure eyes.

"But you should put your feelings into it. You should write about how you feel right now, or what you feel about someone," Hiroto continued, lighting up Kirari's eyes and heart.

"You're right," Kirari nodded.

"Thank you, Hiroto-kun," Kirari smiled, making Hiroto's cheeks turn red.

* * *

"Hiroto-kun, why can't you do that now?" Kirari said, sobbing as she reminisced on the past

Tears soaked her music sheet as she placed her head down with the tears flowing down from her closed eyes.

"Why?"


	5. Chapter 5: Nightmare

**Forgotten Melody**

Chapter 5: Nightmare

"…rari-chan…Kirari-chan…wake up," a voice echoed as Kirari slowly opened her eyes.

"Seiji-kun?" she asked, her eyes squinted.

"Wake up, the building's closing," Seiji said, helping Kirari clean up her mess.

"Oh, it is? I totally slacked off," she said, hurriedly fixing her long, brown hair and putting all her music sheets back in her bag.

"Are you still staying at a hotel?" Seiji asked.

"Well, umm…yeah, but I think I'm going to head to the library."

"Why?"

"Well, I'm going to look for some compositions and try to write the song."

"Stay at my house," Seiji blurted out without thinking.

"Huh?"

"Stay at my house. Don't go to the library."

"Why not?" Kirari asked, picking up her bag.

"Well, I want you to rest up. If I leave you alone at your hotel for tonight, who knows what'll happen. The paparazzi might be right there when you wake up," he continually said, blushing.

"Thank you, Seiji-kun," Kirari smiled.

Seiji lead Kirari to the parking lot where he grabbed his black car.

"Are your luggage at the hotel?" he asked, unlocking the car's door.

"Well, no."

"Where are they?"

"I'll explain it to you later," Kirari said, stepping in.

Seiji shut her door and went to the driver's side. They buckled their seatbelts and headed west to Seiji's house.

Kirari got out and saw the big house that remained intact. There were minimal changes on the outside. She smiled as she remembered the first time she came here.

"Where is your family?" she asked, stepping inside the house to realize that it was empty.

"Oh, they went to Hawaii for vacation, so I have the house for myself," he said, shutting the door.

"The house to himself? So, th-th-the t-two of us are alone in th-this house?" Kirari thought, panicking.

"Keep it together, Kirari! It's only for the mean time!" she told herself for comfort.

Seiji showed her to the house's east wing where the guest rooms were located. He gave her the room that has a more feminine touch to it.

"Wow, it's so cute!" Kirari exclaimed, dropping her bag to the floor.

The room's walls were covered in pink wallpaper and the floor was a shiny, wooden one. The bed had pink, frilly sheets, blankets, and pillowcases and the giant stuffed toys were on top of the wardrobe. A vase full of pink roses and white lilies was on top of the study desk.

"I'm glad you like it. You may take a bath if you want. Just come back to the main wing so we can eat dinner, okay?" Seiji asked, leaving Kirari to prepare for dinner.

Kirari nodded as Seiji closed the door.

"I'd sure love to stay here," she muttered to herself, rolling over the soft, comfortable bed.

After she took a bath, Kirari headed back to the main wing to eat dinner with Seiji just like he asked. He prepared some traditional Japanese cuisine and new Western ones.

"Wow, they're delicious, Seiji-kun!" she exclaimed, munching on everything.

"Still the same Kirari I know," Seiji smiled, slicing a piece of meat.

"What do you mean?"

"Eating a lot like a pig."

The two looked at each other and laughed so hard like they've never laughed in a long time. They enjoyed eating together, leaving no left overs. Before they went on their separate ways, Kirari noticed the garden where she pretended to be Seiji's fiancée in order for him to stay an idol before she left for America.

"I remember that day like it was yesterday," Kirari smiled, looking at the big rock she remembered.

"I still thank you for that," Seiji smiled in relief.

"Good night, Seiji-kun," Kirari said, looking into Seiji's blue eyes.

"Good night, Kirari-chan," he replied, walking to the west wing where his bedroom was.

Kirari walked to the east wing back to her room with a full, satisfied stomach. Her full stomach made her yawn, feeling sleepier. Kirari's decision to stay up all night to write her song was ruined as soon as she felt the soft, warm bed that seemed like it was swallowing her. She quickly fell asleep as soon as she turned off the lamp, showering her room in darkness.

* * *

"Hiroto-kun," Kirari called out, her voice echoing all over the dark, endless place she was in.

"I can't help you with that," Hiroto's voice echoed back, but his face was nowhere to be found.

"I can't help you with that."

Hiroto's voice kept on echoing, frightening Kirari.

"I just met you three days ago!"

"Help you write your own comeback song!"

"No, Hiroto-kun," Kirari called out, trying to stop the echoes.

"Calling me by my first name!"

"Don't you have some decency?"

Kirari crouched down and covered her ears to keep the echoes from entering her mind.

"I don't remember! I don't remember! I don't remember!"

Suddenly, Hiroto and Fubuki showed up in front of her, but quickly walked away while holding hands.

Kirari got up to try and grab Hiroto's hand, but they disappeared into thin air.

"Hiroto-kun!" Kirari screamed from the top of her lungs in fear of losing him.

* * *

Kirari sat up, gasping for air with sweat all over her forehead.

"It was a bad dream," she said, panting.

Scared, she was left with no other choice, but to walk over to the west wing of the house.

"It's so dark," Kirari complained, walking to the other wing with flashlights.

Kirari decided to use flashlights instead of turning on the ceiling lights to prevent the waking up of Seiji. She quietly walked around the dark hallways, her head full of imaginations.

"What was that?" she asked herself, feeling something brush by.

"Just the wind, huh," she sighed in relief.

Kirari continued walking, this time, at a faster pace. She was starting to get more and more terrified when she saw a shadow looking at her from the window.

When she reached the west wing, she remembered what Seiji had told her before.

"If you need anything, I'm on the west wing. I have a sign on my door with my name on it," Seiji said.

Kirari flashed the light on all of the doors to find Seiji's room. The house was so big that it had massive amounts of room.

Finally, she found the sign that had Seiji's name on it. Kirari quietly ran to the door and stopped in front of it to get herself together.

"Seiji-kun?" she asked, lightly knocking on the door.

Hearing no command, she grabbed the doorknob, hoping that it would turn open. Fortunately, it did. She tiptoed her way in, keeping the door slightly open.

"Are you still awake?" she whispered.

"Kirari-chan?" Seiji asked, slowly sitting up after his instincts told him that there was someone inside.

"Seiji-kun!" Kirari exclaimed in relief.

"What's wrong?" he asked as he turned on the lamp beside his bed.

"Oh, I had a nightmare and I…umm…I…I…I c-couldn't—" Kirari said, fidgeting with her fingers.

"You can't go back to sleep?" interrupted Seiji.

Kirari nodded her head in embarrassment.

Seiji got up and grabbed his pillow. He dropped it on the carpeted floor, giving Kirari some space on the bed.

"You can sleep on the bed. I'll sleep down here," Seiji kindly offered.

Before he laid down on the floor, Kirari held the sleeve of his pajama shirt.

"I-I'm pretty sure your b-bed is big enough for the t-two of us," she stuttered in nervousness, looking away to hide her red face.

Realizing that Kirari wanted him to sleep beside her, Seiji's face turned bright red, too. He didn't hate the idea, but he thought it would be bad, but since his kindness always overpowered him, he decided to not decline.

It was true. The bed was actually big enough for the two to have their own comfortable space and still have a gap that separated them in between. Kirari felt more assured, and quickly fell asleep with a smile on her face.

Seiji stared at Kirari's adorable sleeping face before he actually went to bed. A couple of minutes later, Kirari opened her eyes to check if Seiji was back to sleep. She smiled when she heard his silent, tiny, snores as she slowly leaned towards his face. Kirari closed her eyes as she gave him a soft kiss on the forehead.

"Goodnight, Seiji-kun."


	6. Chapter 6: Stress

**Forgotten Melody**

Chapter 6: Stress

"Hm? Somehow…I feel…I feel something warm," Kirari thought, her eyes still closed.

She slowly opened them, finding her face up close to Seiji's. She stared at Seiji's lips and eyes, still trying to grasp what was going on. Her eyes widen as she realized that her face was only a pinky away from Seiji's, their lips almost touching. Kirari sat up as quickly as she could, her face as red as an apple.

"Wh-wh-what happened?" she thought, her heart beating faster when she realized that she was on Seiji's bed.

"Oh yeah, I had a nightmare and decided to sleep beside him," she thought, relieving her mind as she remembered what happened last night.

Still lost in her flashback, Kirari didn't realize that Seiji already got up from his bed, stretching.

"Kirari-chan?" Seiji called, waving a hand in front of Kirari's face to break her daydream trance.

"Oh, good morning, Seiji-kun!" she exclaimed in embarrassment.

"Dress up, Kirari-chan. We're eating breakfast outside," Seiji smiled, opening the curtains to let in the rays of sunlight.

"Okay," Kirari obeyed, fixing Seiji's bed.

After the two finished taking their showers and dressing up, they headed to the garage to get the car. Seiji opened the door for Kirari like a real gentleman. They headed to the café near the Muranishi Entertainment Company building.

"I'd like pancakes and a cup of coffee, please," Kirari politely ordered, handing the waitress the menu.

"I'd like waffles and a cup of tea, please," Seiji ordered, also handing her the menu.

"On the way," the waitress smiled after taking their orders.

Seiji looked at Kirari and smiled, making her face blush.

"Umm, S-Seiji-kun," Kirari shyly said.

"Hm?"

"Th-thank you."

"For?"

"F-f-for last night!" Kirari blurted out, her face turning completely red.

"Oh, that's nothing. The room you stayed in last night used to be my little sister's room, but since she's still a little girl and gets lots of nightmares, my mother decided to turn the east wing into an area where the guest rooms are located. Now, my little sister's room is in front of mine so she could easily come to my room whenever she gets scared," Seiji explained, keeping a smile on his face.

"I can tell you're a great big brother, Seiji-kun," Kirari replied, feeling touched by how he would let his sister in his room to sleep whenever she gets nightmares.

The delicious aroma quickly entered their noses as the waitress brought in their orders. The two happily ate, not getting a single bother from the waitresses or the chefs in the café.

"That's strange, there aren't any paparazzi or customers around," Kirari noticed, her plate almost finished.

"Before I left the company building with you last night, I called this café and told them that I was going to eat here. This café was recently built and I donated money for them to create the invisibility glass," Seiji explained after sipping some of his tea.

"Invisibility glass?"

"The invisibility glass is what they put up whenever I call them. This glass keeps us invisible from the outside, but we can still see what's going on outside. They also put up the 'closed' sign so customers won't come in."

"Wow. So basically, this invisible glass is like those mirrors that I always see in those creepy bathroom shows where the perverts can see the women, but the women can't see them because of some kind of mirror technique?" Kirari asked, not bothering to take a breath.

"I guess so," Seiji awkwardly smiled.

"Wow," Kirari said, finishing her drink and food.

Seiji left the money for the food on the table. Kirari, on the other hand, left some for the waitress' tip. They quickly left and drove to the building to avoid any commotions.

After quickly greeting the Chairman, Kirari and Seiji parted ways for he had to go to the dance rehearsal for Kirari's comeback concert while she had to return to the lounge to write her new song. On her way there, she met her ever-strictly manager.

"Good morning, Kumoi-san," Kirari greeted with a smile on her face.

"Have you picked your two songs yet?" Kumoi-san immediately asked, not even greeting the idol.

"Not really."

"Well, you better pick them soon. You still have to rehearse them and make your new song. After you make your new song, you have to rehearse it. You only have seven days left."

"Seven days?" Kirari exclaimed in shock.

"Yes. Now, get to working. I must know the first two songs you are to sing today, understood?"

"Yes, ma'am."

Kumoi-san walked away, answering the phone that had been buzzing in her pocket. Kirari returned back to the lounge where she found Hiroto, preparing for their rehearsal.

"Good morning, Hiro— Kazama-kun," Kirari corrected with an awkward smile on her face.

"Morning," Hiroto replied, quickly leaving the room.

Kirari sighed as she thought about how Hiroto had forgotten about her and how he now hates her. She sat down on the couch and took out her music sheets and pencil.

"Let's see," Kirari thought, staring at the blank music sheet.

"Oh! I'll decide which two songs I'm going to use first," she said, the idea bursting from her mind.

Kirari grabbed a sheet of paper and wrote the first two songs that she was going to sing.

"There we go. Now, on to the next one," she happily said after getting one task done.

After an hour, Kirari had filled up the trash can with her crumpled music sheets, still not producing, even just the title, for her new song. Lunch time had passed and Kirari was still trying to figure out what to write. Her stomach growled in hunger, but was ignored by the focused idol. It was already afternoon and Kirari hasn't written anything yet.

"How about—no, it's not going to work," Kirari said, eliminating whatever idea she just had in her mind.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the door stood Fubuki, who had been guarding the lounge from anybody that would ruin Kirari's focus.

The sun was starting to set and everyone else in the building was starting to go home. Seiji tried to go inside the lounge to ask Kirari if she was going to stay at his house once again, but Fubuki had told him that Kirari was going to stay at Fubuki's for tonight. Her lie worked for Seiji decided to leave instead.

The sun had said it's goodbye and the dark night has invaded the sky. Fubuki and everyone else left the building except for someone who had been working hard.

Kirari was still inside the lounge with the all the lights still on, still trying to write a story. Beside the full trash bin was a trash bag full of wasted paper. Kirari's stomach kept on growling, but was still put aside so she can finish her task.

The next day, Kirari was still up, the trash bag now doubled. That morning, Fubuki brought a cup of coffee for Kirari, telling her that she probably needed it. She didn't stay for long so that Kirari may continue her work.

"Did she go home last night?" asked Kumoi-san staying outside the lounge that was still guarded by Fubuki.

She nodded, telling Kirari's manager that Kirari stayed at her house. The manager believed her lie, leaving Fubuki to keep on guarding the door.

Another noon and afternoon had gone by with Kirari's stomach still empty. Surprisingly, the girl was still able to stay up to finish her task.

"I can do this," she thought, keeping herself motivated.

She stayed up the whole night once again, having no sleep for two days with a stomach only filled with the breakfast she ate with Seiji the other day and the cup of coffee that Fubuki brought yesterday. Once more, Kirari didn't eat breakfast or lunch, her stomach now growling like a lion.

This time, Fubuki wasn't there to guard the door for she had to go to a shooting for a new movie. Knowing that they mustn't break Kirari's focus, nobody dared to open the door or even make a sound near the lounge that whole day.

However, only one person didn't know about what was going on and entered the room after everyone else had already left.

It was Hiroto.

He walked to the refrigerator to grab an energy drink, wiping his sweat away. Hiroto just finished going to an extra rehearsal just for himself. He decided to go home after taking a short rest since the sun was starting to leave. Without saying anything, Hiroto noticed Kirari's pale face and tired eyes as he opened the refrigerator. He also saw the piles of trash bags full of crumpled-up paper around the trash can beside her.

"Energy drink?" he asked, referring to Kirari.

Kirari heard his voice and realized that someone was inside with her. She was so focused into writing a song that she didn't realize Hiroto came in.

"M-me?" she asked, pointing to herself.

"There's some here, come get it," he said, opening the bottle for himself.

Kirari dropped her pencil and walked slowly to the refrigerator. Suddenly, her body started wobbling and she was no longer walking on a straight line. After taking another step, Kirari fell to the ground as she lost her consciousness.

Hiroto immediately dropped his drink to the floor, spilling its contents.

"Tsukishima! Tsukishima! Wake up!" he said, lifting her head up.

Hiroto got a closer look of Kirari, her face pale and her eyes with bags under them.

"Tsukishima! Wake up!" he called out, patting her cheeks to try and wake her up, but to no avail.

"Please," Hiroto worriedly muttered, clenching his fist.

"Wake up."


	7. Chapter 7: Smile

**Forgotten Melody**

Chapter 7: Smile

"Hm? Wh-where am I?" Kirari thought, slowly opening her eyes.

She gently sat up, feeling a cold breeze on her chest as the blanket fell off of her. When she looked to see why she felt cold, she realized that she was only wearing a tank top.

"Wh-wh-what the heck!" she exclaimed in her mind, quickly covering herself with a blanket.

"You snore."

Kirari turned to the door to see Hiroto with only his jeans on, his hair still damp from taking a shower.

"Hi-Hi-Hiroto-kun! I mean K-Kazama-kun!" Kirari exclaimed, her face turning completely red in embarrassment.

"Stop yapping and get ready. We still have to rehearse," Hiroto said, grabbing a shirt from his closet.

"Here. Use this."

Hiroto threw a shirt at her to use. It was big for Kirari, but it looked small on Hiroto. She guessed that it was probably an outgrown shirt that he never had the time to throw out.

"Wow, so Hiroto-kun lives on his own now," Kirari thought, observing her surrounding to realize that she was in a decent-sized condo.

She quickly got dressed and grabbed breakfast together. Hiroto bought more food for Kirari after his doctor told him that she starved herself and deprived herself of sleep causing her to collapse last night.

Before they left to go back to the company building, Hiroto received a call from Kirari's manager.

"Hello?" he answered.

"Hiroto, do you know where Kirari is?"

"She's with me, why?"

"Okay, good. Stay with her for the whole day."

"What? Why?"

"The building is surrounded by paparazzi. They are everywhere. I've tried to come up with a plan for you and her to get in, but it's not going to work."

"Why do I have to stay with her? Can't I just leave her somewhere?"

"No, you can't. Her bodyguards haven't been hired and you're the only one with her right now, so whether you like it or not, you're going to stay with her."

"Then what are we supposed to do for the whole day?"

"Tell her to get her written song finished. She only has three days left."

"Okay."

"I'll update you on what's going on. Okay? Bye."

Kumoi-san hung up without even waiting for Hiroto to reply.

"Change of plans," Hiroto announced as Kirari came out of the bathroom.

"You're going to finish your song."

Kirari didn't want to question or anger him, so she followed Hiroto's instructions. He stayed with her in the living room while he scanned through the whole TV to find something to watch.

Kirari started getting used to the broken up sounds that she hears every time Hiroto switches the channel on to the next one, interrupting what they were saying. Surprisingly, the switching of channels stopped, making Kirari look up in curiosity.

"You really like Fubuki-chan, don't you, Kazama-kun?" Kirari asked, finding that Hiroto stopped switching the channels because he wanted to watch Fubuki.

In the TV, Fubuki was singing her latest hit that she will also sing in Kirari's comeback concert.

"I guess so," Hiroto replied, not giving a care.

Kirari continued writing her song, but was still having a hard time. She decided to hum the tune she was thinking of to see if it would help her.

"Let's go," Hiroto said, turning the TV off.

"Huh?"

"We're going to go somewhere?"

"Why?"

"Just do it."

"Oh, okay."

Kirari left her music sheet and pencil on the coffee table and got ready. Hiroto gave her a hat to use and a pair of sunglasses for her disguise. Hiroto also put on a hat and a pair of sunglasses that covered his eyes.

Hiroto and Kirari drove away in his black sports car. They drove around town with Kirari still having no clue of where they were going.

"Where are we going?" she asked, looking out the window.

"Will you just wait?"

"Oh, I'm sorry."

After annoying him, Kirari stopped talking and just waited for Hiroto to actually ask her questions. After driving through traffic and small roads, they've finally reached their destination.

"Let's go," Hiroto said, locking his car.

Kirari and Hiroto walked down a dark alley and left the car parked in front of a café. In the end of the alley was a ramen shop that only a few people know about.

"Hiro-kun!" the old lady greeted as soon as Hiroto and Kirari entered the shop.

"Good morning, Oba-san," Hiroto greeted, sitting on the table closest to the counter.

"Who is she?" the old lady asked, fixing her glasses.

"Oh, I'm Kirari Tsukishima," Kirari replied, bowing to show respect.

"Aren't you a little cutie," the lady complimented, sending a smile on Kirari's face.

"I'll get two of my usual, Oba-san," Hiroto asked, getting himself situated.

Their orders came quickly for there were only two other customers in the shop.

"Here you go. Eat up," the old lady said, placing the bowls of ramen on their table.

Even after Kirari had eaten breakfast, her stomach still growled for the delicious smell of the ramen.

"This is amazing!" Kirari exclaimed after eating some of the noodles.

Hiroto, who had been in the shop for many times, was used to the delicious food and just ate in silence. Kirari's exclaims caught the eye of the old lady so she watched her eat so happily.

"I'm full!" Kirari announced after she and Hiroto finished their food.

After paying, they started on their way out, but were interrupted when the old lady called Hiroto over.

"Hiro-kun, is she your new girlfriend?" she whispered into his ears.

"No, ma'am. Just a friend," Hiroto replied with a friendly smile even if his mind was full of disgust.

"That's too bad. I thought she was your girlfriend. The way you looked at her when she was eating was much more different than when you eat with your actual girlfriend."

"How?"

"You actually smiled to the sight of her eating, Hiro-kun."

Hiroto was surprised that the old lady noticed a smile he tried to hide when he watched Kirari merrily eat her food.

"Oh, well she's just a friend, Oba-san," Hiroto protested with an awkward smile.

"Well, I like her. She's really nice and cute, and I know for sure that one day, you'll come to realize your own feelings," the old lady said, giving Hiroto a quick smile before sending her goodbye.

Hiroto left with an awed face, thinking about what the old lady said. He, himself, was confused on why she said that. On their way back, Hiroto took quick glances of Kirari, seeing her smile because of the delicious food she ate that filled her stomach.

When they returned to Hiroto's condo, Kirari quickly started thinking about her song while Hiroto grabbed a magazine to read.

Irritated of how long Kirari was taking, Hiroto decided to help her.

"Look, just write about how you feel, okay? It doesn't matter what it is. If you feel happy, then write a song of happiness. If you miss someone, write about that person. It doesn't matter what it is. As long as you sing it with all your heart, people will love it."

Kirari couldn't say anything for she was speechless.

"Thank you, Kazama-kun," she smiled, her eyes sparkling in happiness.

Hiroto didn't say anything for he was too shy to do so. Kirari's smiling face made his heart beat fast and his cheeks to turn a little red.

"Why am I getting this feeling?" he thought, watching her finally write something on her music sheet.

"How can a smile make me feel this way?"


	8. Chapter 8: Concert

**Forgotten Melody**

Chapter 8: Concert

After a week of busy preparations and tiring rehearsals, the concert finally came. All the idols were in their separate dressing rooms, getting ready.

"First to perform is Erina-san," the stage manager said, announcing it to the managers around her.

Meanwhile, Kirari was looking at herself in the mirror, her hands shaking in nervousness.

"Kirari," Kumoi-san called out, opening the door.

"Yes?" Kirari answered as she stood up and covered her nervousness with a smile.

"You're performing the upbeat song first, then the slow one, and then your new song. Got it?"

"Yes, ma'am."

"Hm?"

Kumoi-san noticed Kirari's trembling hands as they clenched onto her skirt.

"Kirari," she said, putting a hand on Kirari's shoulder.

"Yes, ma'am?"

"Are you scared?"

Kirari nodded, her face turning red in embarrassment.

"You'll be fine," Kumoi-san smiled to try and comfort her.

"But, what if they don't like me?" Kirari asked in worry.

"They always have and always will, Kirari."

Kirari smiled in relief to what her strict, yet kind manager said. After her manager left her alone once again, she took a deep breath and closed her eyes.

"I can do this!" she said, holding up her fist with full determination.

* * *

"Thank you, everyone," Erina winked before she left the stage after her performance.

"Akane-san, it's your turn," the stage manager called out as soon as Erina returned backstage.

Akane performed her new song in front everybody and also promoted the new drama that she will be in. The crowd was pleased to see the first two idols and was starting to get pumped up.

Suddenly, the stage lights turned off and smoke filled the stage. Then, the spotlight turned on and a silhouette was shown.

It was Fubuki.

The bass and the guitar started playing and the stage lights turned on, revealing the idol. She was dressed in a studded mini-skirt and a one-sleeved shirt with ruffles. Her knee-high boots had heels and were sparkling, completing the girly rock star look.

Fubuki started singing her old song, 'Sincerity Day 2006'. She remembered the competition that she was in with Kirari and how they were given the same melody, but were asked to compose their own lyrics. Fubuki sang the song with a huge passion as if she was actually having a competition with Kirari.

After she had finished her performance, the crowd was finally pumped up. Their glow sticks waved everywhere, making the sea of people look like a sea of colors.

When SHIPS came out and sang their old song, 'Tokyo FriendSHIPs', all the girls' eyes were filled with hearts, their hearts beating to the song. All the girls screamed their names to the beat of the song, too.

"Hiroto!"

"Seiji!"

When they finished their performance, all the girls were screaming their heads off, their faces red from excitement and their hearts beating so loud.

When Seiji and Hiroto returned backstage, they passed Kirari who was still a little nervous.

"You'll do great, Kirari-chan," Seiji said, giving her a pat on the head.

Kirari saw Hiroto pass by without saying anything, disappointing her. However, before she walked to the stage, Hiroto gently grabbed her wrist.

"Kazama-kun?" Kirari asked, turning back.

"Good luck," he said, giving her a quick pat on the head.

"Kirari."

Kirari's eyes lit up when she heard Hiroto say her name. Her heart started beating faster, but she wasn't nervous anymore.

"Thank you, Kazama-kun," Kirari smiled before she walked away to get a microphone.

Hiroto's face turned red when he saw Kirari's smiling face. He tried to hide it, but it was visible even without the lights on. When Hiroto saw her a little relieved, he smiled as if he was relieved, too.

Fubuki, who was behind him, saw everything. She crossed her arms together as she walked away in frustration to return to her dressing room.

"Are you ready?" Kirari exclaimed, the lights still turned off.

The crowd was pumped up and was ready to see the returning idol. Their banners were raised up higher and the amount of glow sticks increased.

As soon as the lights turned on, the music started playing and Kirari sang her first song, 'Chance'.

_Chacha CHANCE! Muteki no ikioi de__  
Chacha CHANCE! Tsuyoki no sono iki de  
__Kyou made no AH mainichi ni sayonara wo tsugeru wa  
_

_Chacha CHANCE! Dore dake kawattemo  
__Chacha CHANCE! Kawarazu miteite ne  
__Kirakira no kono saki no michi wo aruku wa anata to ne_

"Wow! I can't believe it! They still support me!" Kirari thought to herself as she sang the rest of the song.

She watched and listened to everyone sing along with her, their faces full of happiness and excitement.

"I'm glad everyone liked it!" she thougth, her face shining even brighter.

After she finished her first song, she paused to take a little break and talked to the audience.

"I'm back, everyone!" she announced, making the crowd cheer in joy.

"How was everyone?" she asked, her smiling face sparkling.

The crowd answered back with "I love you's" or just yelling her name.

The next song started playing and it was her hit song, 'Love Fireworks'. When she started singing, the whole arena got quiet and the glow sticks swayed along with the melody.

_Demo kanawanai nara  
Sora no hirosa wo shiritakunakatta  
Nante omowanai  
__Datte isshun de mo kagayaketa koto  
__Hokori ni omou kara_

The crowd was moved by Kirari's slow, heart-felt song. The crowd once again cheered for her, making her smile grow wider in happiness.

"Finally, this song is my new comeback song. It's called 'I Miss You'. I hope you all like it!" Kirari announced, relaxing herself even if her heart was still beating like crazy.

The piano started playing and the crowd got quiet to hear the new song. They were surprised that it wasn't an upbeat song for most comeback songs were appealing. However, the crowd was surprised for they were all attracted to the sound and melody that was playing.

"This song is full of all the things I want to say to you, Hiroto-kun," Kirari thought, her eyes and voice conveying the feelings inside her heart.

Kirari gave all her feelings out when she reached the final chorus.

_I miss you kotoba ni dekinai kurai no  
Kokoro no oku hibiteiru wa  
Last day Oh Last dream tomaranai kodou ni  
Asa ga kureba mata ugoki deshita machi_

When Hiroto heard this, his eyes grew wide as if the song was meant just for him. He listened to the song as careful as he could, his face red and his heart throbbing.

"W-why do I…feel this way?" he thought, a strange yet warm feeling residing in his heart.

The crowd clapped their hands and yelled Kirari's name as she ended the song with a sincere look on her face. Tears rolled down her eyes, not because of her being nervous, but because of how happy she was to take out all the feelings she has for Hiroto out through a song and how her audience still loves her like how they loved her before she left for America.

"Thank you, everyone! Thank you for all the support!" Kirari exclaimed, wiping her tears away as she waved goodbye.


	9. Chapter 9: Jealousy

**Forgotten Melody**

Chapter 9: Jealousy

"Congratulations, Kirari-chan," everybody greeted as she entered the building the next day after her comeback concert.

"Wow! Thank you so much, everyone!" Kirari exclaimed, the surprise party being a success.

All the workers, managers, and idols of the Muranishi Company came to celebrate Kirari's successful comeback concert. Everybody still loves her even if she was gone for four years, which is a big surprise for usually, when an idol is gone for that long, the people forget about them and don't appeal to them anymore.

"You did great yesterday, Kirari," Kumoi-san said, grabbing a drink from one of the passing waiters.

"Thank you, Kumoi-san," Kirari smiled as her manager walked away.

Kirari was showered with praises and compliments about her performance from last night. The whole time she was there, all she said was her thank you's.

Kirari finally had the time to sit down, exhausted from all the attention. She looked around and she realized that all the people that were in the party are now a part of the Muranishi Company.

"In just four years, the Muranishi Company grew so much. Even Fubuki-chan's here, too!" she thought with a smile on her face.

"You did amazing yesterday, Kirari-chan," Seiji said, sitting down beside her.

"Thank you, Seiji-kun. You were great last night!" Kirari complimented back.

The two laughed together after talking about how nervous they both were.

"Kirari-chan," Seiji said, his tone of voice turning into a serious one.

Kirari looked at him and waited for him to continue.

"That song you wrote for last night…who's was it for?"

Seiji looked into Kirari's eyes with seriousness, making Kirari's heartbeat faster.

"Umm…w-well..it—"

"Kirari-chan!"

Kirari was interrupted by a familiar voice she just heard recently. Kirari turned around to see Hikaru.

"Hikaru-chan!" Kirari exclaimed, getting up in relief.

Kirari was too scared to answer for she didn't want to tell Seiji the truth. She hurriedly ran to Hikaru and gave her a big hug.

"You did really great last night!" Hikaru exclaimed, her eyes still glistening with excitement.

"Thank you, Hikaru-chan," Kirari replied with a big smile on her face.

Hikaru started talking about how great the performers were and how Kirari's talent has improved so much, but Kirari's attention was suddenly taken away when Hiroto walked in with Fubuki, their arms interlocking. Hikaru noticed that Kirari wasn't paying attention anymore, so she traced Kirari's sight to find out who or what she was looking at.

Hikaru realized that Kirari was looking at the seemingly-happy couple that was talking to the other guests. She looked at Kirari's face, realizing jealousy in her eyes.

"Kirari-chan," Hikaru called out, breaking Kirari's trance.

"Huh? Yes?"

"That song was for Hiroto-kun, wasn't it?"

Kirari looked down on the ground to hide the misery that her eyes will show, then she looked up after taking a nice and easy breath to calm herself and denied what Hikaru said.

"No, it's not, Hikaru-chan. It's for Seiji-kun," Kirari lied, her fake smile reaching from cheek to cheek.

Hikaru was able to see through her, but didn't want to tell her for she wanted Kirari to learn and realize her own feelings herself.

"Okay, but did you tell Seiji-kun?" she asked, teasingly nudging her.

"Uh, well—"

"Tell me what?"

Seiji heard his name as he walked towards the two idols. He was curious for Kirari's face turned bright red when Seiji interrupted her.

"N-nothing!" Kirari exclaimed, waving her hands around to indicate that there was nothing she needed to say.

"Come on, Kirari-chan. You know you want to tell him," Hikaru teased, still nudging her.

Hikaru was aware of how Kirari's feelings for Hiroto, but she didn't want her to get heartbroken for Hiroto already has Fubuki. Even if she knew it was wrong, Hikaru helped Kirari feel the same way for Seiji.

"W-well, I-I," Kirari stuttered, trying to think of a convincible lie that she can say.

When she looked behind Seiji's broad shoulders, she saw Hiroto kiss Fubuki's cheek in front of the guests and other idols that also came. Reaching the point where she was starting to lose all hope on Hiroto, Kirari blurted out the lie that she wanted to turn into reality after what she saw even if it would be hard to do so.

"I-I wanted t-to tell you that the new song I wrote w-was for you!" Kirari screamed in embarrassment, grabbing everyone's attention.

Everyone's eyes and stares were on Kirari and Seiji, waiting for what would happen next. Hiroto and Fubuki also waited for another word to come out from either one of them. Suddenly, Fubuki felt Hiroto tremble and saw his clenched fist. She looked into his eyes, seeing rage and jealousy.

"It was for me?" Seiji asked in surprised.

Kirari nodded, her eyes tightly shut, still embarrassed from the confession she made. Seiji grabbed her hand and pulled her to him, giving her a tight hug.

"Thank you, Kirari-chan," Seiji said, his eyes close as he embraced Kirari's warmth.

Kirari realized that Seiji is so much taller than her now for her head was on his chest. She could hear Seiji's heart beating for joy and excitement. Kirari wrapped her arms around him to feel his warmth, too.

"You're so warm, Seiji-kun," Kirari thought, her eyes closed.

Everyone clapped their hands for Kirari and Seiji, causing them to break away and turn their red faces away from each other due to shyness. All the idols and guests started wondering if the two would become a couple soon. Most agreed on how they'd be great together, but some didn't.

"Kirari-chan and Seiji-kun would do great as a couple, won't they?" a lady beside Hiroto said to the man beside her.

"I agree. They'll be the most famous idol couple, don't you think?" he answered back.

"Yeah. It sure is nice to be young."

Having heard enough, Hiroto broke away from Fubuki, leaving the hall with great jealousy and annoyance, however, Fubuki didn't bother to catch up with him for she, herself, was annoyed and jealous, too.

"It's better this way for the both of us," Kirari said, aware that Hiroto's presence in her mind started blurring because it was now being filled with Seiji's presence.

Kirari and Seiji didn't announce them as an official couple yet, although people have already congratulated them. Seiji didn't want to rush Kirari and Kirari wasn't completely ready to let go of her feelings for Hiroto.

Meanwhile, Hiroto was on the rooftop, looking at the winter sky despite of how cold it was up there.

"Why? Why do I feel this way?" he thought, seeing Kirari's face.

"I've only met her recently. So why?"

* * *

After the party, Seiji and Kirari were left behind to talk to each other about what happened earlier. They stayed out in the balcony of the celebration hall in the Muranishi Entertainment Company building.

"Seiji-kun," Kirari said, her shiny, brown hair flowing around from the winter breeze that flew by.

Seiji looked at her and waited for her to continue, captivated of her innocence and beauty.

"I-I want to take this s-slowly," Kirari said, her face blushing.

"Please don't laugh at me," Kirari begged, shutting her eyes.

Seiji's surprised face turned into a gentle smile that warmed Kirari's bashfulness away.

"I do, too, Kirari-chan," he replied, patting her head.

Kirari looked into Seiji's blue eyes, seeing his sincerity and kindheartedness.

"Maybe," Kirari thought, the setting sun illuminating her flushed face.

"I'll actually fall in love with him."


	10. Chapter 10: Carousel

**Forgotten Melody**

Chapter 10: Carousel

"I wonder why they called us to the lounge?" asked Kirari, walking down the hallways with Seiji.

"A meeting, maybe?"

"About?"

"Who knows."

Seiji opened the door for Kirari and held the door for Fubuki and Hiroto, who were holding hands.

"Okay, I have work for the four of you," Chairman Muranishi said, finishing his cup of tea as he stood up.

"The day after tomorrow is Fantasy Land Amusement Park's 10th year anniversary and they asked us to send our top four idols to perform," he explained.

"You're going to arrive there early in the morning to prepare and the performance is at noon, then for the rest of the day, you are allowed to have your free time, but you must wear a disguise. Any questions?"

"Umm, Chairman Muranishi, I've only been here for almost three weeks. Why will I perform?" Kirari asked in confusion.

"Didn't you see the Oricon Charts yesterday?" Kumoi-san asked, picking up a magazine.

"No. I was too busy from the photo shoot. Why?" Kirari asked, having no clue once again.

Kirari's manager showed her the Oricon Charts Top 10 List from the magazine and Kirari's comeback song, 'I Miss You', was Top 2 for Fubuki was on Top 1 and SHIPS was on Top 3.

"Wow! I can't believe my new song became famous in just one week," Kirari exclaimed, a big smile glowing on her face.

"Of course," Chairman Muranishi agreed with satisfaction.

"Now, you four must spend today and tomorrow practicing your performances," he continued, walking out of the lounge with Kumoi-san.

"Do you want to rehearse with me, Seiji-kun?" Kirari friendly invited Seiji, her face blushing.

"Alri—"

"Sorry, but SHIPS has to rehearse as a group," Hiroto interrupted, his fist clenched.

"Oh. I'm sorry," Kirari said, her smile turning upside down.

"Let's go, Seiji," Hiroto said, walking out of the room in frustration.

"I'll see you later, Seiji-kun," Kirari said, smiling awkwardly.

"We'll go out for lunch, okay, Kirari-chan?"

"Okay."

Kirari felt better due to Seiji's lunch invitation and the friendly smile that cheered her back on.

"You and Seiji are a cute couple, right, Kirari?" Fubuki said, watching Seiji and Hiroto walk away.

"Huh? Oh, really?" Kirari asked in surprise.

"Yeah. I mean, Seiji's really nice and sweet. He's the perfect boyfriend for you, don't you think?"

"I," Kirari said, her head looking down.

"I-I'll think about it!" she blurted out, running away as her face started turning bright red.

Fubuki smirked as she watched Kirari run away in embarrassment.

When Kirari got back to her rehearsal room, she shut the door and locked it, her heart beating faster and her face turned red and warm.

"Why?" Kirari asked herself.

"Why is it that when we talk about Seiji-kun…m-my heart throbs so fast," Kirari said, sitting down on the floor.

"What do I do?" she asked herself out loud, her voice echoing inside the room.

* * *

"So, are you going to sing your new song for the performance?" Seiji asked as they drove through town to find a place to eat.

"Yeah. At first I thought it would be a bad idea since there'd be a lot of kids there, but I remembered that the amusement park would be full of couples, so my song should set off a good mood for any couple out there," Kirari said with full confidence.

"That's good," Seiji smiled in relief.

After he found out that Kirari stayed at Hiroto's house due to collapsing over stress, Seiji had been looking out for Kirari to make sure that she never stresses out over small matters again.

"What about SHIPS, Seiji-kun?" Kirari asked, looking at him.

"Oh, we're singing our new song, too."

"Isn't it Tokyo FriendSHIPs?"

"Yeah. It's about two really good friends that will support each other no matter what happens."

"Did you and Kazama-kun write that?"

"Yeah. How'd you know?"

"It seems like you and Kazama-kun would write something like that."

Seiji shared a laugh with Kirari for just a brief second. Suddenly, Seiji realized something strange.

"Why do you call Hiroto-kun, 'Kazama-kun'?", Seiji asked, stopping at a red light.

"Well, he doesn't remember me…at all. So, might as well start from the beginning," Kirari frowned as she looked out the window.

Seiji sighed, seeing Kirari's sad face. He didn't want to see her smile fade away so easily, so he returned it by telling her that he's taking her to a crepe store. Kirari was so happy to hear it that she smiled for the rest of the time they were together. Her smile got even wider after eating the delicious crepes. Seiji was happy to see her smile again, hoping it would always stay that way.

* * *

The next day, the four idols came along with their managers at 8:30 in the morning to the private room reserved for them to prepare for their mini-concert. Kirari shared a dressing room with Fubuki and SHIPS had their separate dressing room.

"Kirari," Fubuki called out, placing the magazine she was reading down.

"What?" Kirari asked.

"Are you alright?" Fubuki asked, looking at Kirari's face.

"Huh? O-oh, yeah. I'm fine," Kirari awkwardly smiled.

Fubuki knew she was lying for she can see Kirari's face had gone pale and her voice was a little coarse. She could also see Kirari's forehead was drenched in sweat when the heater was barely even warm enough to make them sweat.

"Here, take this," Fubuki stood up, giving Kirari a piece of mint candy.

"What is it?"

"It helps you calm down. Are you still nervous?"

"Y-yeah, sort of."

"Kirari, if you really are sick, don't perform. It's supposed to be colder today than yesterday. Take some medicine or just go to the hospital, okay?"

"No."

Fubuki was surprised to hear Kirari's refusal.

"Why not?"

"No matter what happens, don't take me to the hospital. Okay, Fubuki-chan," Kirari begged, her eyes shimmering.

"W-why?"

"Promise?" Kirari insisted.

"Okay, but I won't hold responsibility if you get sicker than you already are," Fubuki said, sitting back down.

"Thank you, Fubuki-chan," Kirari smiled in relief.

* * *

"And now, brought to you by Fantasy Land Amusement Park…please welcome, SHIPS, Fubuki Todou, and the returned idol, Kirari Tsukishima!" the host announced, pumping up the crowd.

The four idols sang a song altogether before they broke up into their own performances. The first to perform were Seiji and Hiroto, giving Fubuki some time to check on Kirari.

"How are you feeling?" Fubuki asked, checking on Kirari.

"I'm okay," Kirari said, her face still pale.

"You're good at faking, aren't you?"

"What do you mean?"

"The crowd didn't notice your sickness. Are you sure you'll be able to perform?"

Kirari nodded, wiping her sweat away. Fubuki was surprised that she was still sweating even if the winter's cold temperature was making her body shiver. It was finally Fubuki's turn to perform, but before she went onstage, she asked Seiji to look over Kirari. Without asking for any more questions, Seiji did what he was told, but Kirari didn't let him touch her.

Kirari took a deep breath after Fubuki finished up her performance with a loud applause from the audience. She patted her face and grabbed the microphone from Fubuki.

Kirari greeted them with a fake smile, the whole crowd convinced. After waiting for them to quiet down for her heartfelt song, she started singing her new song while her heart thumped faster and stronger inside her chest.

"I probably feel sick for I'm stressed over this," Kirari thought.

She decided to give it her all so that her sickness can go away. Her performance had a stronger impact than expected, even making some of her fans cry from the sad mood of the song. Kirari received an even bigger applause than Fubuki, making her feel a little better.

The three other idols joined her and said their goodbyes to the audience. They quickly went back to their dressing rooms as soon as they finished waving goodbye.

"Stay here and rest, Kirari," Fubuki said, putting on her disguise for her free time at the park.

"No, I can't."

"Yes, you can. You look worse, Kirari."

"No! I can't, Fubuki-chan! I have a date with Seiji-kun," Kirari protested, putting on a scarf and a woven bonnet.

Hearing about Kirari's date with Seiji, Fubuki's worried face showed a quick smirk that Kirari didn't notice.

"Just be careful!" Fubuki scolded, storming out the door.

Kirari followed behind meeting Seiji at the carousel.

"Do you want to get on here first?" Seiji asked with a friendly smile.

"Yeah, since we're here already, then might as well go now," Kirari agreed, smiling back.

Kirari got on one of the horses while Seiji stood beside her to assist her.

"Wow! This is so fun! I feel like a kid again!"

"Right!" Seiji agreed.

The two shared another laugh together, enjoying the bright, spinning carousel. They could see everyone as the ride spun around in a moderate speed while the horses slowly moved up and down. While spinning around and seeing the different rides and stalls, Kirari and Seiji planned on where they would go next after the ride was over.

Before the ride was over, the carousel spun one last time. Kirari, who was starting to feel better because of Seiji, was suddenly surprised of what she saw in front of her, sending her whole body into shock and pain.

Fubuki and Hiroto were kissing each other.

On the lips.

When Kirari saw this, it felt like time slowed down just for her to see everything that was going on. She could see Fubuki's pink, glossy lips on Hiroto as they shared a passionate kiss.

"Hiroto-kun and Fubuki…are…kissing?" Kirari thought, her blue eyes wide open, showing the reflection of the kissing couple and all the emotions she was feeling inside.

"They…kissed."


	11. Chapter 11: Quitting

**Forgotten Melody**

Chapter 11: Quitting

"Kirari-chan!" Seiji exclaimed, catching Kirari as soon as she fell off the horse of the carousel ride.

The ride operator stopped the carousel from spinning to see what was going on. Unfortunately, Kirari and Seiji's disguises were busted off, revealing to everyone that the idols were still in the park with them.

Fubuki and Hiroto ran to the scene as soon as they heard Seiji's calling out Kirari's name.

"What happened?" Hiroto panicked, helping Seiji.

"I don't know, she just fell."

"Quick! Call an ambulance!" Hiroto yelled, holding Kirari's hand.

"Wait!" Fubuki called out.

"Kirari said she doesn't want to be taken to the hospital," Fubuki explained while everyone stopped dialing their phones.

"What do you mean? When did he tell you that?" Seiji worriedly asked, Kirari's head on his arms.

"She wasn't feeling good ever since this morning. I told her not to do the performance, but she still did it anyways. Then, before we went onstage, she told me not to bring her to the hospital no matter what happens…and I'm not going to break that promise," Fubuki explained, remembering what happened that morning.

"Why would you promise her that?" Hiroto asked, frustrated.

Fubuki clenched her fist and was about to start yelling at Hiroto, but when she noticed that they were making a really big scene that can cause an intrigue about what's going on between the four of them, Fubuki takes her phone out.

"Mom…Yes…I need the car…Yes…Please hurry…The Fantasy Land Amusement Park…Okay…Thanks…Bye," Fubuki said, hanging up as soon as she finished her conversation with her mother.

"My mother's sending our private driver to bring all four of us to my house," Fubuki explained, squatting down to pat Kirari's forehead with her handkerchief.

"For now, let's bring her inside one of the dressing rooms," she proposed.

Just when Hiroto was about to pick up Kirari, Seiji lifted her up on his arms instead, making him look like a prince rescuing the princess. Fubuki noticed that the crowd didn't take pictures of Kirari's being on the ground, fainted, but started taking pictures of Seiji and Kirari when he carried her.

"At least they have hearts," she thought, walking behing Seiji.

As soon as Fubuki's private driver got there with the car, Seiji brought Kirari in and placed her on the seat beside him. Fubuki sat in front while Hiroto sat beside Kirari, putting her in the middle.

When Hiroto looked to the side, he saw Kirari's head on Seiji's shoulder while he was holding both of her hands. Seeing this, Hiroto felt something strange in his heart, making him clench his fist.

* * *

Kirari slowly opened her eyes as she felt something cold on her forehead. After squinting and blinking for a couple of times to adjust her vision, she realized that it was a cold, wet, white towel that was on her forehead.

"Wh-where am I?" she said, slowly turning her head to the left.

She saw long, gigantic, golden-colored curtains hanging by the windows. The embroidered patterns were Victorian, making the curtains look beautiful and majestic. She also saw a golden-colored lamp beside her with dangling diamonds, making it look more like a chandelier. Then, she looked up once again, seeing an actual chandelier with its glimmering crystals that shone rainbows.

When she turned to her right, she saw Seiji's bobbing head as he sat beside her bed while holding her hand.

"Seiji-kun," she called out, smiling.

Seiji heard his name, waking him up from his uncomfortable slumber. He looked at Kirari, realizing that she just woke up.

"Kirari-chan, how are you? Are you hurting? Are you okay? Do you need anything? Are you thirsty?" Seiji continually asked, still concerned of Kirari's state.

"I'm fine, Seiji-kun."

"Are you sure?"

Kirari nodded, reassuring the fretting Seiji. Out of nowhere, Seiji put his chest on Kirari's to give her a hug that warmed her.

"I was so worried, Kirari-chan," Seiji said, still hugging her.

At first, Kirari was shocked and surprised, but knowing that someone was there to worry and care for her made Kirari feel glad and relieved.

"Anyways, where am I?" Kirari asked as soon as Seiji got off of her.

"You're at Fubuki's house," Seiji said, helping Kirari sit up on her bed.

"Wow, it's big isn't it?"

"Yeah, bigger than ours," Seiji agreed.

Suddenly, someone knocked on the door and opened it without waiting for permission. It was Fubuki with a maid carrying food for Kirari.

"I'm glad you're awake, Kirari," Fubuki smiled as she walked in with her maid.

"Sayuko, just place her food there," Fubuki ordered, sitting down on the bottom of Kirari's bed.

"Seiji, will you please let us have a moment to speak in private," Fubuki requested, turning to Seiji.

"Just call for me, Kirari-chan," Seiji said, giving her a kiss on the forehead.

"This way, sir," Sayuko said, walking out with Seiji.

The maid gently shut the door to give the two girls some time to talk.

"Kirari, how are you feeling?" Fubuki asked, giving Kirari the tray of food.

"I'm good."

"After you eat, take the medicine with the water, okay?"

"Ok. Thank you, Fubuki-chan."

Kirari took a sip of the soup that Sayuko prepared for her.

"So, why didn't you want me to take you to the hospital?" Fubuki asked, watching Kirari eat.

"Oh? Well, I thought it wasn't going to be that serious."

"Not that serious? Kirari, Seiji was so worried about you! Everyone was worried of you!" Fubuki exclaimed with anger.

"I'm sorry, Fubuki-chan, but thank you for letting me use one of your rooms," Kirari said, guilty and thankful.

"It's okay. Just recover fast."

Kirari nodded with a smile to relieve Fubuki of her worry. She left with the tray of food as soon as Kirari gulped down the last teaspoon of soup. Kirari also took her medicine just like how Fubuki asked her to.

A couple of minutes after Fubuki left, Hiroto came in with a bouquet of pink daisies and white roses. Kirari, who was paying attention to the book she was reading, thought that it was Seiji that came in.

"Seiji-kun, I—" Kirari paused, turning her head to find out it was Hiroto that came in.

"K-Kazama-kun?" she stuttered.

"How are you feeling?" he asked, sitting down on the stool beside her bed.

"I'm okay."

"Here. I bought them for you," Hiroto said, handing her the bouquet.

"Thank you," Kirari replied, receiving the present.

"So, what happened?" Hiroto asked, flustered.

"Well, I don't know. I just…fainted…I guess."

"Oh…well…how are you and Seiji?"

"We're doing great…what about you and…umm…Fubuki-chan?"

"We're good, too."

After running out of things to talk about, silence lingered in the room with no sounds made.

"You and Fubuki-chan were so cute when you guys kissed," Kirari said, awkwardly smiling.

Hiroto, surprised of what she said, blushed in embarrassment. He started blurting out things that he didn't even know he was saying, but stopped right away when he looked at Kirari's face.

Kirari was smiling, yet her eyes were showing heartbreak and grief. They were watery and Hiroto knew that her eyes were about to pour out all her feelings.

"Kirari, I—"

"You guys are great together," Kirari interrupted, not giving Hiroto some time to say anything.

Hiroto felt the same strangeness he felt inside the car when he saw Seiji holding her hands while her head was on his shoulder. He didn't know why he was feeling that, but he knew he didn't like that feeling for it hurts him inside.

After a couple of moments of silence, Kirari gathered up all her courage and said something to him that she knew she would regret, but would be the best for both of them.

"Kaza—No…Hiroto-kun…I'm quitting," Kirari said, still keeping up her fake smile.

"What do you me—"

"There's a star that I've always looked up to…I was getting so much closer to reaching it, but then…I realized that the star I've been trying to reach…was near to me…yet so far," Kirari narrated, her eyes getting teary.

"I've held onto the dream of reaching that star for so long…but…I'm quitting. That star belongs to someone else…so…maybe I'll look for a new star to reach," Kirari smiled as tears flowed out of her blue eyes.

"Who knows…that star might just be right in front of me!" Kirari exclaimed, wiping her tears away as she laughed it off.

Without saying anything else, Hiroto stood up and left and didn't look back.

"Why? Why do I feel this way? She's not my girlfriend! Fubuki is! Why?" Hiroto wondered as he walked out in the rain.

"Why do I have a feeling that I'm the star she was trying to reach?"


	12. Chapter 12: Waves

**Forgotten Melody**

Chapter 11: Waves

"You called for me?" Fubuki said as she closed the door of a gigantic room in her house.

"Yes, I did. How's your friend?" a woman with dark purple hair said.

"She's okay, why?"

"Are you happy she's gotten sick?"

"Of course," Fubuki smirked.

"You surprise me so much," the woman said, turning her rotating seat around to face Fubuki.

"My lovely daughter," the woman continued with a sinister smile.

* * *

"I'm back, Kirari-chan," Seiji said, closing the door behind him.

Kirari didn't say anything, but she smiled. Her tears were gone and it seems that Seiji didn't realize that she was crying for he didn't ask right away.

"What did you and Fubuki-chan talk about?" Seiji asked, sitting down on the stool.

"She just told me to get better soon."

"Oh, okay. She's really nice, isn't she, Kirari-chan?"

Kirari nodded and smiled as she recalled Fubuki's getting mad for Kirari didn't take care of herself when Fubuki wanted her to.

"Seiji-kun, can we leave tomorrow?" asked Kirari, looking at the curtain to find out that the sun was starting to set.

"Yeah, but I heard from Kumoi-san that you don't have anywhere to stay in?"

"Oh, yeah. I didn't want to stay at the hotel because the paparazzi are still surrounding every hotel room. I stayed at Hikaru-chan's for a night, then at yours and then at Kazama-kun's and then I stayed at the lounge to write my song for a week."

"Isn't this too stressful?"

Kirari nodded, but smiled to keep Seiji from worrying too much.

"You can stay back at our house. The family's not back yet," Seiji offered.

"But, isn't that rude?"

"I already contacted my mother and she said that she wants you to stay at our house so she can get to know you more when they get home," Seiji smiled.

"I guess I have no choice," Kirari playfully sighed.

The two shared a good laugh together as they remembered that night when Kirari came into Seiji's bedroom for she had a nightmare.

"Seiji-kun, thank you so much for everything," Kirari said as soon as their laughs died down.

"I'll do everything to always see your smile, Kirari-chan," Seiji confidently said.

Kirari's face turned red for she thought that moments like these can only happen in movies and dramas, but Seiji turned it into reality.

After recovering, Kirari moved in with Seiji until she finds a place for herself. Seiji moved her room to the west wing of the house so she wouldn't feel alone. He also cooked dinner for her and they ate in the dining room together. They laughed and talked about the goofy happenings when they're working when suddenly, Kirari's phone started ringing.

"Hello?" Kirari answered.

"Kirari, where are you?" Kumoi-san asked.

"With Seiji-kun, why?"

"Good. I have something important to tell you so listen to me carefully."

"Yes, ma'am."

"Tomorrow, do not go to our building. Put on a disguise and go to the beach. Is that understood?"

"Why can't we go to the building tomorrow?"

"We're handling the matters about your passing out three days ago. Paparazzi are all around the building."

"What? But—"

"Just follow all my instructions, okay?"

"Yes, ma'am."

"I'll text you the updates, okay?"

"Okay."

Kumoi-san hung up, leaving Kirari full of worry and confusion. Kirari explained to Seiji what was happening and her manager's instructions to them. Seiji reassured Kirari that nothing bad will happen and that everything will be alright. Kirari felt a little relief in Seiji's words and decided to sleep early to get more rest. With the help of Seiji, she was able to sleep without any nightmares.

* * *

"Fubuki-chan?" asked Kirari, noticing the identity behind the disguise.

"It seems that all four of us received the news," Fubuki said, putting away her phone.

"So, what do we do now?" Seiji asked, looking out for paparazzi.

"How about we all go on a date? You know, double date?" suggested Kirari, her eyes twinkling.

"Double date? So, you and Seiji are…together now?" asked Fubuki, hoping a 'yes' for an answer.

Kirari and Seiji looked at each other and waited for the other to reply, but when Kirari noticed Seiji's face was so red in embarrassment, she decided to take the initiative to answer Fubuki's question.

"Yeah," Kirari nodded with a big smile on her face.

Seiji's eyes widen in surprise, not knowing when they started dating, but he didn't care for happiness built up in his heart. Fubuki was pleased to hear about the two's decision, but Hiroto didn't like the idea. He clenched his fist and didn't make eye contact with any of them.

"Let's go!" Kirari declared, holding Seiji's hand.

Seiji and Kirari walked together with their fingers interlocked. Fubuki and Hiroto, on the other hand, walked together with their arms interlocked. The three decided to have a picnic at the beach even if the waves send cold, winter breeze.

Hiroto and Seiji spread the big cloth on the sand and Kirari and Fubuki took the food that they bought from the nearby store out the plastic bag. All four of them sat on the cloth and enjoyed the food.

"Seiji-kun, 'aaahhh'," Kirari said, raising the spoon to Seiji's mouth.

Seiji opened his mouth and Kirari put the food into his mouth. Fubuki smiled when she saw this while Hiroto rolled his eyes. Out of nowhere, a gush of cold breeze blew Kirari's hat away.

"My hat!" she exclaimed as she stood up to catch it.

Hiroto got up to help her chase her hat. Surprisingly, the wind was still blowing, keeping the hat up in the air. Finally, when it was starting to die down, Kirari's hat was starting to descend to the ground, but unfortunately, the hat landed near the waves.

Kirari had no choice but to get it even if she was going to get wet, but Hiroto came to rescue and ran to the waves to get it. Half of his pants got wet due to the huge waves. Kirari ran over to Hiroto to help him, getting herself wet, too.

"I got it," Hiroto said, giving her the hat.

"Thank you," Kirari smiled, putting the hat back on.

As they walked back, Kirari's foot got stuck in the muddy sand, causing her to trip and fall, but luckily, Hiroto caught her right before her face almost flopped to the ground.

Kirari and Hiroto's eyes meet, seeing each other's reflection in their eyes. Suddenly, Hiroto started seeing things.

Memories.

He was seeing memories of the past. He saw Kirari's face and the beach. He saw her hugging Kirari while his hood covered his face. The pressure of the memories were hurting him, causing him to cower and let go of Kirari.

"What's going on? Why…am I seeing…this?" Hiroto thought, seeing Kirari's face in the flashbacks.

"Kazama-kun?" Kirari called out, seeing if he was okay.

Hiroto started screaming in pain, grasping his hair to make his headaches stop. His eyes were tightly shut and he was starting to lose his balance.

"What's happening to him?" Fubuki asked as she and Seiji approached the two.

"I don't know!" Kirari panicked, seeing Hiroto in pain.

"Hiroto! Hiroto!" Fubuki yelled in panic.

"Why are you in my memories?" Hiroto roared, his eyes still tightly shut.


	13. Chapter 13: Blood

**Forgotten Melody**

Chapter 13: Blood

Hiroto was taken to Fubuki's house where a private doctor was waiting. They didn't want to take him to the hospital for it could cause more commotion especially when Kirari collapsed a couple of days ago, too. Seiji and Kirari waited outside at the guest's room while Fubuki was inside with the unconscious Hiroto and the Todou Family's private doctor.

"How is he?" Fubuki asked, holding his hand.

"He is doing okay. His blood pressure seems to be normal and there are no signs of injury," the doctor explained, putting the stethoscope's chest piece on Hiroto's bare chest.

"Umm…Sensei…his memories?" Fubuki hesitantly asked.

"I don't know how much memories he's starting to remember, but he needs to avoid whatever or whoever's making him remember it. He will get hurt from time to time if he remembers them without his willing, but if he wants to, then he should be able to withstand them."

The doctor gave Fubuki the prescriptions for Hiroto and left quietly. Fubuki was left with Hiroto, who was still soundly asleep.

"Hiroto," she quietly said, stroking his hair.

"Kirari," Hiroto muttered as he felt Fubuki's hand on his head.

Memories of what happened in the past flashed in Fubuki's head as she took her hand away from him. She clenched her fist while her face showed worry when she remembered some memories in her past.

"It's me, Hiroto. It's Fubuki. I'm the only person you love, okay?" she said, smiling before she gave Hiroto a kiss on the lips.

After hearing that they were allowed to see Hiroto, Kirari and Seiji hurriedly ran to the room they were told to go to. There, they saw Hiroto sitting up on his bed, his back leaned on the headboard while Fubuki opened the curtains of the tall glass windows.

"Hiroto," Seiji said, opening the door.

"Oh, Seiji. What's up," Hiroto said, turning to him.

Kirari walked in and closed the door behind her and followed Seiji to Hiroto's bed. When Hiroto saw Kirari, he turned his head down to hide the pain and anger his face was showing.

"Kazama-kun, are you okay?" Kirari worriedly asked, holding Seiji's hand.

Fubuki, who was still opening the curtains, turned to take a glance at Kirari. Fubuki felt jealous and happy at the same time since Hiroto looked down because he didn't want to see Kirari.

"Why are you here?" Hiroto asked, clenching his fist.

"Kazama-kun?" Kirari muttered in confusion and shock.

"Get out," Hiroto quietly muttered.

"Hiroto," Seiji said, hearing what he said.

"I said...get…out," Hiroto looked up and showed his anger to Kirari.

Kirari's eyes widen in fear, shock and pain because it was the first time she had ever seen the other side of Hiroto. She couldn't control herself and she felt tears starting to come, so before she could embarrass herself even more, she let go of Seiji's hand and ran away, not shutting the door.

"Kirari-chan!" Seiji called out, trying to stop her, but it was pointless.

"What is wrong with you, Hiroto," Seiji said in anger.

Seiji left and ran out of the room to find Kirari. Fubuki finally finished opening all the curtains and saw Kirari run out of the house. She watched her run out to the road with tears streaming down her face.

Fubuki turned around to find Hiroto's clenched fist shaking in anger and frustration. She took a step to walk over to his bed and comfort him when suddenly, she heard a loud crashing noise outside.

She turned to the window and saw a puddle of red fluid on the road. Her eyes widen when she saw a girl lying down on the road, her cute clothes wrinkled, dirtied and tattered. Fubuki gasped in surprise when she realized who the girl on the ground was.

It was Kirari.

She hurriedly ran out of the room with terror filling her mind. When Hiroto saw Fubuki's widened eyes, he was curious of what she saw out the window, so he got out of bed and walked to the clear, glass window where he saw Fubuki run out of the house to the road. When he looked out the window, he saw the pool of blood and a car's smoking engine.

Then, he saw Seiji's terrified face as he cried for the girl on the ground. More memories started to flow in Hiroto's head when he realized that the girl that got hit by a car was Kirari.

He covered his ears, thinking that he would prevent the memories from rushing in. He couldn't handle the pressure of the flow which caused him to fall on the floor and return to being unconscious.

* * *

"Kirari! Kirari!" Seiji screamed in panic as he lifted Kirari's head.

There was blood everywhere, causing Seiji to panic even more. After calling for an ambulance, Seiji tried to locate the wound where the blood was coming from to apply pressure on it to prevent her from bleeding out. Seiji realized that it was coming from her waist.

A piece of shattered glass punctured her side and got stuck there, causing her to bleed. Seiji didn't know what to do, but fortunately, the ambulance came and took her and the driver of the car who was also injured.

Fubuki arrived at the scene, but she was too late for the ambulance already drove away. All she found was the pool of blood and the pieces of glass everywhere along with the car that hit Kirari.

Fubuki's eyes were still wide in shock and surprise as she ran back to the mansion. Instead of turning right to go back to Hiroto's room, she continued to run down the hall and went upstairs. Then, she turned right and ran straight to the room with the big doors. Without knocking, she barged in the room and ran up to the desk located in the center of the room.

"It was you, wasn't it?" Fubuki asked, her eyes showing anger and worry.

"What are you talking about, dear?" the lady sitting on her desk calmly asked.

"She got ran over! She got ran over by a car!" Fubuki yelled as her anger boiled.

"Oh my, who did?"

"Kirari!"

"Oh goodness! Is she alright?"

"Cut it out, mother! This wasn't part of our plan!"

"I know, dear….but," Fubuki's mother replied, standing up and walking over to the other side of her desk to stroke Fubuki's worried face.

"If she's going to get in the way, won't we have to get rid of her?"

* * *

The heart monitor attached to Kirari was beeping calmly, showing no signs of disturbances. The room was so quiet that Seiji's thoughts were getting louder and louder in his head. He sat beside Kirari's bed, holding onto her hand.

Seiji remembered what the doctor explained to him after performing the surgery on the idol.

* * *

"Hiwatari-san, may you please tell me what you did when you saw Tsukishima-san on the ground?" the doctor asked, taking the mask of off her face.

"Well, I lifted her head and put it on my lap because I didn't know what to do. There was so much blood," Seiji replied, remembering the scene that he found.

"Thanks to you, she didn't bleed out too much. She has a small crack on her head and your putting her head on your lap applied pressure on it that it prevented her skull from releasing too much blood."

Seiji was glad to hear that he was of some help even if he felt really helpless that time.

"We already fixed the crack on her skull and the cut on her waist, however, due to the shock and pressure of the car hitting her body, we are not sure when she's going to wake up, but we can assure you that it won't be longer than a week or two. We are also going to run some tests just in case she has some more damages."

"Thank you so much, Saitou-sensei," Seiji replied, bowing to her.

The doctor bowed to him and walked away for a nurse had called for her.

* * *

"Kirari," Seiji worriedly muttered, looking at Kirari.

"I love you, so please, wake up soon."


	14. Chapter 14: Goodbye

**Forgotten Melody**

Chapter 14: Goodbye

"Kirari," Hiroto said with a gentle smile on his face.

"Hiroto-kun?"

"Kirari."

Kirari followed Hiroto for he kept on calling out her name. When they reached Fubuki's big gate, Hiroto stopped calling her name causing her to stop walking towards him.

"Kirari," Hiroto said, holding out his arms.

Kirari, thinking that he wanted to give her a hug, ran to him as fast as she could. However, Kirari never thought Hiroto would do something horrible to her.

"I hate you."

Hiroto moved out of the way as he said those three painful words. Kirari couldn't stop and kept on running towards the road with widened eyes.

"Hiroto-kun," Kirari muttered as a car hit her.

* * *

Kirari gasped for air as she opened her eyes from the horrible dream. Tears were on her eyes and cheeks and her hands were trembling. She could hear her heart monitor beeping loudly inside the white room.

"Hospital?" Kirari asked herself, seeing all the wires attached to her body and parts of her arms and legs and her head wrapped around with bandages.

When she turned to her right, she saw someone else's hand holding onto hers. Even if she had an idea on who it was, she was still surprised that he was there, his sleepy head on her bed, waiting for her.

"Seiji-kun," she muttered, her face blushing.

Suddenly, Seiji's head started moving and he woke up. Seiji used his left hand to rub his eyes to clear his vision so that he wouldn't have to let go of Kirari's hand. When his vision was finally cleared up, he saw Kirari's smiling face that was shining so bright in front of him.

"K-Kirari," Seiji stuttered in surprise.

Without waiting for Kirari to say something else, Seiji got up from his seat and gave Kirari the biggest and warmest embrace he could ever give to someone. Kirari can feel Seiji's heartbeat and his trembling, worried arms. She knew that Seiji was worried sick of her.

"I'm glad…I'm glad you finally woke up," Seiji said with relief in his voice.

Kirari was so glad to feel Seiji's embrace that she started crying tears of happiness and surprise. As her tears soaked her face, Kirari remembered the last things she saw before she lost her consciousness.

She remembered seeing the car run her over, the glass that she hit when she toppled over the car's hood and the blue sky that she looked at for just a small moment before she closed her eyes. With all the things that she was going through, Kirari only thought about one thing.

"Would everyone be happier if I was gone?"

That was the only thing she kept on asking herself during the whole time that her eyes were closed. She didn't know if she would ever find the answer to it for she felt lifeless. Kirari didn't know if she survived or if she was dead. A part of her wished for her to just be dead, but the other told her that she shouldn't give up because there a warm, loving heart waiting for her.

When she woke up and saw Seiji's relieved face and feeling his warm hug, she was able to answer her own question.

After finally calming down, Seiji and Kirari talked about what happened. Seiji told her that she was in a coma for three weeks which caused him to worry so much because the doctor said that she was only supposed to be asleep for no more than two weeks. Kirari told him the truth about what she felt and the question that she asked herself.

"No! No one would be happy if you were gone, Kirari!" Seiji exclaimed, shocking Kirari once again.

"To be honest, I know that not everyone would be sad if you were gone, but I know one thing for sure!"

Kirari waited for him to continue as he took a pause to get himself together and find the right words to say.

"I know for sure that I would be devastated if you were gone…because," Seiji stated, his face flustered.

"Because?" Kirari thought, waiting for him to continue.

"I love you."

Hearing those three words made Kirari's heart beat faster and harder. To her surprise, she started crying once again.

"Thank you, Seiji-kun," Kirari said with her eyes glimmering with tears.

Seiji was surprised to see Kirari's tears and smile at the same time. Even if he had seen her cry because of happiness, something was different that time.

"Your warm embrace woke up my frozen broken heart. I thought I would always be broken, but you fixed my heart, Seiji-kun," Kirari cried.

"I love you, too."

Seiji smiled in relief and gave Kirari another hug, but he felt like he wasn't going to be able to let go of her because his happiness was just rushing through his whole body, heart and mind. Kirari felt the same as she realized her true feelings for Seiji.

"This is goodbye, Hiroto-kun," Kirari thought as she saw Hiroto's face in her mind fade away.

* * *

Hiroto felt something in his heart that made him drop his drink all over the floor. His eyes were wide open and his heart was beating fast. To make it worse, Kirari's face was in his mind along with some more memories that he was starting to retrieve.

"Hiroto? Hiroto? Are you okay?" Fubuki asked, gently putting her hand on his shoulder without minding the wet floor.

"No! No! No!" Hiroto exclaimed shutting his eyes.

Hiroto could hear Kirari's voice in his mind along with the smiles that he'd been seeing ever since she came back.

"This is goodbye, Hiroto-kun," Kirari's voice echoed in his head, sending pain to his heart.

"No! Please! Don't go!" Hiroto yelled in pain.

"Hiroto!" Fubuki called out his name, breaking the echoes he was hearing.

"I'm always going to be here," Fubuki said with a gentle smile on her face.

With everything happening so sudden and fast, they didn't even realized that they were on the floor. Hiroto sat on the floor like a scared child waiting for someone to comfort him while Fubuki was on her knees, making her look taller than Hiroto.

To her surprise, Hiroto pulled her to him and hugged her tightly with his trembling arms. Hiroto could hear Fubuki's heartbeat which relaxed him a little bit. He was glad to hear that Fubuki would always be beside him, but something was amiss.

"You're not the one that I didn't want to let go of, Fubuki."


	15. Chapter 15: Official

**Forgotten Melody**

Chapter 15: Official

Seiji gave Kirari a kiss on the forehead before he left to buy more food. Kirari was informed that she was to stay in the hospital for one more week. She had been in the hospital for almost a month, but she never got bored for Seiji never left her side. Other stars also visited her along with Kumoi-san and Chairman Muranishi with some 'Get Well Soon' gifts.

Moments after Seiji left, Kirari's doctor, Saitou-sensei, walked in with her files on her clipboard. Her hair was in a usual ponytail and the stethoscope was still hanging around her neck. Saitou-sensei always greeted her patients with a smile to give them relief, however this time, Kirari sensed her seriousness.

"Good afternoon, Saitou-sensei," Kirari greeted, trying to lighten up the mood.

"Have you told anyone?" Saitou-sensei straightforwardly asked.

"About?"

"We ran a few tests just to make sure you're doing better," Saitou-sensei stated while showing Kirari the files and test results.

When Kirari saw what Saitou-sensei was talking about, she didn't look surprised, but looked worried instead.

"I'm guessing you already knew about this," Saitou-sensei said as Kirari returned the charts.

"Please don't tell anyone," Kirari begged, looking at Saitou-sensei with her glimmering eyes.

"But Tsukishima-san, you're going to get worse if you—"

"I'll be fine, sensei," Kirari protested as she looked away.

"As long as you don't tell anyone…I'll be fine," she continued.

The doctor sighed and was left speechless with Kirari's begging and protests. She didn't want to say anything anymore for she knew that trying to change Kirari's mind was useless. She left with her heavy sighs and gently closed the door, leaving Kirari in deep thought.

"I don't want anyone to know about this."

* * *

"She's getting discharged today," Kumoi-san said, answering Fubuki's question.

After a month of being in the hospital, Kirari was all better, but still needed to recover. She was lucky that she didn't have to take physical therapy.

"I see. Does she need anybody to pick her up?" Fubuki asked.

Hiroto was about to walk in, but decided to eavesdrop instead for he heard Kirari's name.

"I don't think so. Seiji's taking Kirari back here," Kumoi-san replied.

"But hasn't he been with her for a month now? Did he even go home?"

"He only went home five times and that was to get more clothes for himself."

"Five times?"

"Yes. He said he didn't want to leave Kirari when she was in her three-week coma."

Hiroto's eyes widened in shock when he heard about how long Kirari was in a coma, but he wasn't just shocked. To his surprise, he was clenching his fist in anger when he heard that Seiji didn't leave her side for the whole time she was asleep.

"They should be leaving the hospital anytime soon. I might need a few idols to distract some paparazzi so Kirari and Seiji can come inside the building without getting hurt," Kumoi-san continued.

"I'll volunteer," Fubuki replied.

"Okay. We'll meet in front of the lounge in twenty minutes, understood?" Kumoi-san strictly commanded.

Fubuki nodded her head and bowed to Kirari's manager before she walked out of the room.

"How are you going to distract them?" Hiroto asked, surprising Fubuki as she closed the door.

"I'll find a way," Fubuki calmly said with a worried mind.

"I'll come with you. We'll make a small scene that the paparazzi can get some news on," Hiroto volunteered.

"It's fine, Hiroto. I can do it myself. It's not that har—"

"I'm coming with you no matter what you say," Hiroto interrupted, grabbing Fubuki's hand.

Fubuki was shocked with Hiroto's grabbing her hand because he had never done it to her before. She knew she was supposed to be happy, but she felt something painful inside her heart because she noticed something odd.

"Please tell me he doesn't remember anything yet," Fubuki thought, looking at the back of Hiroto's head.

* * *

"Are you ready, Kirari," Seiji asked, signing the papers for her to get discharged out of the hospital.

Kirari nodded with a smile on her face.

"I'm really glad to finally leave this place," she said.

After all the papers were signed, Seiji carried their things to his car and opened the door for her. They finally drove away after they got situated inside.

"How are you feeling, Kirari?" Seiji asked, keeping his eyes on the road.

Kirari nodded with a blush on her face as she watched the scenery pass by. Seiji took a glance at her and started blushing when he saw her smile and her red cheeks. With the two being shy and flustered, silence lingered in the car.

"I'm really happy," Kirari said, breaking the silence.

"Huh?" Seiji thought, decreasing the speed when the traffic lights turned yellow.

"I'm really happy that you're just calling me by my name, now," Kirari blushed, still looking out the window so that Seiji wouldn't see her tomato-red face.

"O-oh. I thought you wouldn't like it at first," Seiji blushed, waiting for the lights to turn green.

"No, I'm really happy," Kirari finally looked at Seiji with her glowing smile.

Seiji smiled back at her and continued driving as the light turned green. Surprising, yet making him happier, Kirari held the hand that Seiji wasn't using to drive the car. It took her more courage, but she thought that it was worth it because she felt happier, too.

* * *

"Go to your positions now. They're almost here," Kumoi-san commanded when she got the text message from Kirari saying that they were three minutes away from the company building.

"Let's go," Hiroto said, pulling Fubuki.

Fubuki could feel Hiroto's grip getting tighter when they were starting to reach the outside of the building. She was afraid to say something, but she was starting to get hurt.

"Hiroto, will you let go of me. Your grip is hurting me," Fubuki complained.

Hiroto pretended not to hear her and kept on walking towards the paparazzi that were looking out at the road to look for Seiji's car. When the paparazzi started raising up their cameras, Hiroto knew they were close.

He stopped walking when he was really close to the paparazzi and stood there, still gripping Fubuki's wrist. Hiroto's grip got tighter when he saw the silver car stop in front of the paparazzi.

"Hiroto! It hurts! Let go of me!" Fubuki yelled.

Nobody heard her for they were all paying attention to Kirari and Seiji.

"There she is!"

"Kirari-san! Please answer my question!"

"Over here! Hiwatari-san!"

All the paparazzi were screaming and shouting just to get Kirari and Seiji's pictures and some statements.

"Hiroto!" Fubuki yelled.

Hiroto finally decided to stop pretending to not hear Fubuki and pulled her closer to him.

"Everyone! We're right here!" Hiroto announced, trying to take their attention away from Seiji and Kirari.

Fubuki was starting to get scared because of Hiroto's sudden change of character. She didn't say anything in fear of making Hiroto angrier than he already was.

"Over here!" Hiroto yelled.

He still didn't get their attention and all he could hear were their screaming for Kirari's and Seiji's names and the clicking sounds of their lenses.

"We have an announcement to make," Seiji said, stopping in the middle of all the paparazzi with Kirari behind him.

Hiroto didn't know what to do anymore so he grabbed Fubuki and kissed her on the lips, sending a shock to her whole body. Hiroto closed his eyes in hopes that they would get at least some attention from the paparazzi. Fubuki, whose eyes were widened in shock, slowly closed them to savor the moment.

"We're an official couple," Seiji smiled, holding Kirari's hand a little tighter.

When Hiroto heard this, he slowly pulled his face away from Fubuki's, his eyes showing anger and jealousy. He looked down on the ground to hide his fury. All the paparazzi went crazy when they heard the news and took millions of pictures of Kirari and Seiji while they were holding hands with merry smiles on their faces.

"Hiroto?" Fubuki worriedly asked, seeing Hiroto's furious face when she opened her eyes.

"Let's go," Hiroto commanded, walking back into the building in anger.


	16. Chapter 16: Dinner

**Forgotten Melody**

Chapter 16: Dinner

"Now, please, excuse us," Seiji calmly requested, embracing Kirari as he walked away from the group of paparazzi that were taking tons of pictures of the new official couple.

"Seiji-kun, is this okay?" Kirari asked as soon as Seiji let go of her after entering the building.

"What is?"

"Well, won't you get bugged by almost all the paparazzi, though?"

"I'm alright as long as you're here," Seiji gently smiled.

Kirari was surprised yet happy to hear what Seiji said. After walking farther into the building, the couple was greeted by Kumoi-san and Chairman Muranishi followed by Hiroto and Fubuki from behind.

"I'm so happy for the two of you, Kirari-chan, Seiji," Chairman Muranishi greeted, patting Seiji on the shoulder.

"The news surely gets out really fast, huh," Kirari said, smiling.

"Congratulations, Kirari, Seiji," Fubuki greeted, her arms interlocked with Hiroto's.

"Thank you, Fubuki-chan," Kirari smiled without even taking a look at Hiroto.

The chairman invited all of them to dinner to celebrate the new couple. He also requested them to wear formal clothes for they were going to an expensive restaurant.

On their way there, the new couple didn't mind the paparazzi and their questions for they were all the same. They either asked when they started dating or where Seiji asked Kirari out. Since Kumoi-san and Chairman Muranishi went ahead, Seiji and Kirari rode his silver car while Fubuki and Hiroto drove his black one.

Surprisingly, there were no paparazzi around when they arrived at the four-star restaurant. Two valets greeted the two couples and parked their car while they entered the sophisticated restaurant with their elegant dresses and tuxedos.

"Wow, Kirari-chan! You look amazing!" greeted the Chairman, seeing Kirari walk in with Seiji while they held hands.

Kirari wore a red one-strap dinner dress with the skirt extending to her knee. Her hair was curled and she wore shiny, black, round-toe pump that increased her height a little bit. Even if it did increase her height, she was still shorter than her boyfriend who wore a buttoned blazer with a white collared shirt.

"That's not true, Chairman Muranishi. Look at Fubuki-chan. She looks more amazing," Kirari humbly said, turning to Fubuki whose arms were interlocked with Hiroto's.

Fubuki wore a violet strapless dinner dress that embraced her sexy curves. Her dark-blue hair was styled into a neat beehive updo and she wore a black platform pump that also increased her height. It was true that Fubuki was really attractive, but Kirari outshone her since this was the first time they've seen Kirari wear a more mature dress.

"Your scars healed up pretty fast," the Chairman observed, ignoring Fubuki and Hiroto.

"The dermatologist gave me medicine to apply on the bruises and cuts and they disappeared just in time before I left the hospital, but the cut that the big piece of glass made is still here so I still have to put bandages around my waist," Kirari explained, touching the part of her waist where the cut is located.

"Kirari, be careful," Seiji said, pulling her hand away from her waist to prevent her from getting hurt.

"Kirari?" Kumoi-san muttered.

"When did you drop the honorifics?" Fubuki asked.

"A month ago?" Seiji said, not sure when he actually did stop.

Kirari started blushing because she didn't even realize that Seiji dropped the honorifics a month ago because she was in a coma for the whole time.

The waitress finally came and guided them to the table that they reserved. Kirari held onto Seiji while they walked behind Kumoi-san and the Chairman while Hiroto and Fubuki walked behind the new couple. Kirari took a small glimpse on Hiroto since she felt like she was being watched and sure enough, Hiroto was actually looking at her.

They sat on a round table that was covered with a white table cloth along with plates and silverwares. There were also bottles of champagne and sparkling wine on the table along with shiny wine glasses. The waitress handed them the menu and they all politely told the waitress their orders. After their appointed waitress left, the Chairman opened the bottle of champagne and sparkling wine.

"Since all of you are still prohibited from drinking alcohol at your age, you are drinking sparkling wine," Chairman Muranishi explained, pouring the wine in the teens' glasses.

"While you, children, drink the non-alcoholic wine, Kumoi-san and I will be drinking a nice bottle of champagne," the Chairman said as he turned to look at a blushing Kumoi-san.

Seeing the Chairman's gentle smile and Kumoi-san's coy face, Kirari knew there was something going on between the Chairman and her manager. Kirari smiled to the sweet thought in her head, but leaned to Seiji to make sure that she doesn't get the wrong idea.

"Hey, is there something going on between Chairman Muranishi and Kumoi-san?" she asked, whispering into Seiji's ears.

"They've been a couple for a long time, but they both deny it because they're too shy to admit it to other people," Seiji whispered back, making Kirari giggle.

Hiroto saw Kirari's red face and her giggling irritated him which resulted to his interrupting the Chairman and Kumoi-san's flirting.

"Can we just please get to the point, Chairman," Hiroto impatiently interrupted.

The Chairman cleared his throat to drive away the awkward silence that lingered after Hiroto's unexpected disturbance.

"I would like to take a toast for the new couple, Seiji and Kirari-chan. We hope that the both of you will have the merriest relationship," the Chairman greeted, raising his glass.

After all of their glasses touched, they drank some of it and enjoyed the taste of its exquisiteness.

"I also have an announcement to make," Kirari's manager stated, standing up after the Chairman sat down.

The four young idols placed their glasses down on the table and paid attention to Kumoi-san.

"The four of you will be in a new movie that will be filmed in two weeks. The filming will take three months and all of you will be away from the city for it will be filmed in the country," Kumoi-san announced to the surprised four idols.

"What is it about?" Kirari curiously asked.

Kumoi-san told them that the cast are going to have a meeting tomorrow discussing the story's plotline and other things they need to know before the filming. Kirari and Seiji were both excited, but Hiroto and Fubuki both seem like they didn't want to do it.

When their food arrived, all of them ate their food sophisticatedly for it was a semi-formal dinner. There would be silence from time to time because all of them had food in their mouths, but if they were talking about something, they would either talk about Seiji and Kirari or Hiroto and Fubuki however, the Chairman asked something that he shouldn't have brought up.

"I'm quite surprised Hiroto and Kirari-chan didn't end up together. What happened?" the Chairman asked, not minding what the others felt as he sliced a piece of meat.

All four of them including Kumoi-san had shock in their eyes. The longest silence they've had for the night was in the atmosphere, hearing only the Chairman's silverware hitting the plate as he merrily ate his food without noticing the atmosphere.

"Kazama-kun and I just met recently, so I'm not really surprised. Besides, he's in a relationship with Fubuki-chan and I have Seiji-kun," Kirari said after gathering all the courage that she had been keeping.

With what she said, Fubuki and Seiji were shocked yet relieved, but Hiroto felt something different. He didn't know whether he should be happy about what she said or whether he should be disappointed. He could see memories in his head, but the pressure wasn't strong enough to make his head hurt. He could see Kirari's face along with Seiji's and Kirari's cat whose name he couldn't remember. He saw Fubuki's face, but from what he was seeing, she wasn't the same Fubuki that they have right now. Before all of the memories that he was starting to remember disappeared, he saw a memory of him and Kirari hugging each other.

"I'm going to take a little breather," Hiroto said, getting up from his seat with his eyes kept on the ground.

Kirari didn't want to look at him for she didn't want to ruin the feelings that she had for Seiji. Surprisingly, Fubuki didn't go after Hiroto, but took some sparkling wine and kept on drinking them instead.

"Seiji-kun, I need to go to the bathroom, excuse me, okay?" Kirari asked as she got up from her seat.

Seiji nodded to give her permission and stayed on his seat, drinking the sparkling wine. He looked at Kumoi-san, who still had worry in her eyes. Kumoi-san noticed Seiji's looking at her so she nodded to give him permission to get up from his seat.

He walked to the direction where Hiroto went so that he could have a little talk with him.

* * *

"That's right. Kazama-kun and I just met recently. I don't know much about him, but I do know that he's in a relationship with Fubuki-chan," Kirari convinced herself as she looked at her reflection in the bathroom mirror.

"I love Seiji-kun," Kirari smiled when she thought of Seiji's gentle and friendly smile.

Kirari patted her face to give her more confidence. Before she headed out to the door, she started coughing roughly, stopping her from walking any further.

She kept on coughing hard continuously that she fell on her knees. She covered her mouth with her two hands while her eyes were wide in terror as she looked at her hand.

"Not now!" Kirari thought.

* * *

"Hiroto," Seiji called out, seeing Seiji leaning on the balcony's rail.

"Hey," Hiroto greeted as he stood up straight to talk to Seiji.

They didn't say anything to each other after that and just looked at the stars and the bright full moon, instead. They could hear the wind's whispers and the sounds of some cars passing by.

"I love Kirari," Seiji blurted out of nowhere, surprising Hiroto.

He looked at Seiji, seeing his passionate eyes looking at the moon as if the moon was Kirari.

"Kirari's been there for me through everything. I've loved her ever since I met her and she's the very last person that I would want to lose," Seiji passionately stated.

Hiroto's mouth was partly opened in amazement, thinking that Seiji was a real gentleman full of courage and kindness. He had known Seiji for a long time, but he had never seen him so passionate about something.

"Fubuki-chan loves you like I love Kirari. I hope you know that," Seiji said as he turned away from Hiroto.

"By the way, it's your and Fubuki-chan's second-year anniversary," Seiji stated before he went back inside when he saw Kirari step out of the bathroom.

Hiroto was shocked that he had forgotten about his and Fubuki's anniversary. He finally understood why Fubuki hadn't spoken to him for the whole day, not even wanting to do Kumoi-san's command earlier that afternoon with him.

"I guess I have to apologize," Hiroto smiled, seeing Fubuki as he walked back inside.

Before he sat down, he leaned onto Fubuki's head from behind her and whispered words to her ears that made her smile so elegantly.

"I love you, Fubuki."


	17. Chapter 17: Announcement

**Forgotten Melody**

Chapter 17: Announcement

"Are you okay, Kirari?" Seiji asked as he sat back down.

"Yeah. I'm okay," Kirari lied, showing him a fake smile.

"Are you sure? You look kind of pale."

"I'm okay, Seiji-kun. Don't worry."

Kirari was able to show him a not-so-fake smile which convinced Seiji that she was fine. She picked up her glass and drank some sparkling wine while she watched Hiroto walk in. Not knowing what he was going to do, Kirari continued drinking while looking away from Hiroto from time to time.

Suddenly, Hiroto leaned onto Fubuki's head and whispered something to her that made her smile. Kirari started coughing because the wine went in the wrong pipe for she was shocked of what she saw.

"Kirari!" exclaimed Seiji, getting up to pat her back.

Kirari didn't stop coughing which changed Seiji's mind about staying longer.

"Let's go, Kirari. Let's call it a night," he said as he helped her get up from her seat.

"Are both of you leaving?" the Chairman asked, putting down his glass of champagne.

"Yes, sir. Kirari doesn't look well, so we're going home," Seiji explained while holding onto Kirari who was leaning on his chest.

"Okay. Well, come to the building at 7:30 am tomorrow. The cast meeting for the movie will take place in our company building," Kirari's manager reminded.

"I think we should call it a night, too," the Chairman said, looking at Kumoi-san.

Kumoi-san nodded at the Chairman, agreeing with him. Seiji and Kirari went ahead while the Chairman wrote a check for the payment of their meal.

"What about you, Hiroto, Fubuki?" Kumoi-san asked, turning to the couple that was still talking with bright smiles on their faces.

"Oh? We're staying here for a little bit longer," Fubuki replied with a smile that Kumoi-san had never seen before.

The Chairman smiled in relief when he saw the two smiling with happiness in their eyes, but Kumoi-san didn't look too happy. When they reached the exit of the restaurant, the valet had already prepared their ride. Kumoi-san sat in the passenger seat while the Chairman decided to drive. The Chairman had told Kumoi-san that the champagne that they have was actually non-alcoholic, so she needn't worry about his drunk driving.

"It's been two years, huh," Kumoi-san sighed as she looked at the lights passing by.

"I'm just glad he's back," the Chairman replied, his eyes on the road.

"Just because he retrieved his memories, doesn't mean he's back," Kumoi-san replied in disagreement, her cool still manageable.

"What do you mean?"

"He's in pain. I can tell," Kumoi-san answered, taking her eyeglasses off and placing them inside her eyeglasses case.

"He's trying to remember, but she's restricting him. Not to mention, her replacing it," she continued.

"Replacing?" Chairman Muranishi confusedly asked as he stopped on a red light.

"I guess you still haven't noticed," the blue-haired manager replied while resting her head back.

* * *

"I'm Kirari Tsukishima, pleased to meet you."

Kirari and Seiji just arrived in time for the cast meeting. With their staying up late last night, they thought that they would oversleep and not be able to come in time, but luckily, Fubuki and Hiroto came moments after they did.

After the four main cast came, they proceeded to the introductions of the staff, crew and cast. All of them had no trouble with each other and it seemed that everyone had no problems either. When the introductions were taken care of, the director finally told them who they are playing in the story.

"Kirari Tsukishima-san, you are going to be Maiko Fujiyama. Seiji Hiwatari-san, you will be playing Hiroki Sonozaki. Mamoru Iguchi will be played by Hiroto Kazama-san and Fubuki Todou is going to be Shizuka Daidouji. This story is about four childhood friends who end up falling for each other, but realizes that they've fallen for the wrong ones."

When Kirari and the other main cast heard about this, they didn't look surprised, but somewhat looked determined. They were able to tell that the movie will be a challenging one.

"Shizuka is the daughter and the heiress of a big finance company called the Daidouji Company. When she went to school, she was bullied by the other kids because she was admired by a lot of boys even if she was really quiet and mature for her age. Maiko, the daughter of another big finance company called the Fuijyama Company, saves her along with her friends, Mamoru and Hiroki. All four of them end up being good friends that lived like ordinary kids even if they were heirs and heiresses," the director continued.

"One day, all four of them decided to go on a summer trip to the Daidouji Villa near the beach. That's when they realized their feelings for one another. Shizuka was starting to fall in love with Mamoru and Mamoru was falling for her, too. Meanwhile, Maiko was starting to fall in love with Hiroki and Hiroki was falling for her, too. When Shizuka took a midnight walk, Maiko follows her and they discuss the feelings they have for the two boys. They both reveal that their scared to fall in love because they don't want their friendship to get ruined in case anything bad happens. Without their knowing, the two boys followed them and heard their confessions. The boys then told the girls that they were in love with them so much that they never thought of hurting them," the director explained while the atmosphere was getting more and more serious as he started getting into the story's climax.

"After that night, Maiko and Hiroki became a couple and Shizuka and Mamoru became a couple, too. They all kept their relationships from the public to keep their companies' good reputations. Time passes by and the four of them are almost graduating from high school to enter college. They were all so close to each other that they all decided to go to the same college. Mamoru came home that day to share to his parents about his and his friends' decision to all go to the same college, but he came home to a big surprise.

Hiroto paid close attention to the story for he realized that his role was a part of the story's climax. He knew that the story's climax must always be the best part of the story because it is the turning point.

"Mamoru's parents announced to him that he'll be studying abroad for college. In sadness, he runs away and finds Maiko along the way. He told her what happened and asked her if she could keep it a secret from Shizuka and Hiroki. Maiko agrees and ever since then, the two became closer to each other because they were the only ones who knew about his leaving. Graduation was getting nearer and nearer and Maiko and Hiroki realizes that they have feelings for each other. However it was too late for he was getting ready to leave, so they kept their feelings for each other inside."

Kirari showed worry when she found out that the character she'll be playing will eventually fall in love Hiroto's character. She knew that they're going to have some parts that would show their love for each other, causing her to panic inside.

"On graduation day, even if he didn't want to, Mamoru breaks up with Shizuka to make their parting less hard. He then leaves the next day without an explanation to Shizuka or Hiroki. Years later, Mamoru comes back before graduating because he was engaged. When he came back, he learned that his fiancée was none other than Shizuka. Shizuka was happy about this, but Mamoru wasn't because he acknowledged something he didn't want to accept while he was abroad: he was in love with Maiko."

Kirari was now panicking a lot inside for she didn't know that the events of the story would turn out that way. She took a glance at Hiroto, who was calmly listening to the story.

"Of course he'd be calm about this," Kirari thought, knowing that Hiroto doesn't have even a single feeling for her.

"When Mamoru met Maiko during their engagement celebration, he finds out that she's engaged to Hiroki. Mamoru realized that Maiko wasn't too happy about it either, so Mamoru takes her out to the balcony and tells her how he really feels about her. Sadly, Maiko was hurt from waiting for him for too long and just accepted the fact that they couldn't be together. After the confrontation, the two never got to talk to each other for they were getting ready for their own weddings. Days before Maiko and Hiroki's wedding, Hiroki was brought to the hospital because of his cancer. Mamoru came to visit him and found Maiko there. He asked her how long he's had it and she reveals that the reason why she didn't want to leave Hiroki was because she wanted him to be happy even if it means she can't have her own happiness. He was diagnosed with cancer two weeks after Mamoru left. She also revealed that she was the one who asked his family to have her as his fiancée instead of Shizuka because she knows Hiroki loves her. Without their knowing, Hiroki heard all of it and felt bad because the person he loves was suffering because of him. Weeks later, Hiroki's health started worsening, but the two doesn't know. Hiroki asks to be pulled out of life support so that Maiko wouldn't have to suffer. Mamoru ended up marrying Shizuka and Maiko still mourned for Hiroki's sacrifice," the director ended.

"So, there's no happy ending?" one of the actors asked in curiosity.

The director shook his head in sadness, explaining to them that the story is about tragedy and how time and distance plays a part in someone's romantic life.

"The title of this movie is 'Distant Hearts'," the director revealed, amazing everyone.

Upon hearing the title, Kirari and the rest of the cast were more determined to make the movie a success even if the tragic story made their hearts feel a little pain. They were all excited when the director said that the filming will start in a week instead of two. They can already see all the fun they'll experience and the lessons they'll learn during the times of filming.

"I'll make sure that they'll see the best Kirari they've ever seen," Kirari thought with full determination and confidence.


	18. Chapter 18: Touring

**Forgotten Melody**

Chapter 18: Touring

"Her health is worsening," Kirari's doctor said as she talked to a mysterious woman.

"I see," the woman said.

"Please keep a close eye on her. Won't she be gone for three months for filming?" Saitou-sensei asked.

The woman nodded in reply and walked away, not looking back to ask any more questions

"Why didn't you tell anyone, Kirari?"

* * *

"Are you ready, Kirari?" Seiji asked as he put the seatbelt on.

The day finally came and the whole cast took a private plane to the set of the movie. It was going to be filmed on the other side of the country. Of course, Seiji and Kirari sat together and Fubuki and Hiroto did, too.

Kirari nodded with a smile on her face as she looked out the window while the plane ran down the runway. Before they knew it, they were already off the ground. Since it was a private plane, they were allowed to walk around to get what they need or just have the stewardess bring it to them. With nothing to do, some of the cast opened their script and read and memorized their lines.

The director told them that they when they arrive, they are allowed to do whatever they want for the rest of the day. They could either tour around the place, rest in the hotel or help out with some of the things needed. Kirari and Seiji decided to tour around and buy some souvenirs for Seiji's family. Since Kirari lived with Seiji for she hasn't found a place to stay in, she also wanted to buy things for the house to make up for her staying in.

"Fubuki-chan, Kazama-kun, do you want to come with us to tour around when we get there?" asked Kirari, leaning forward to see their faces.

Fubuki and Hiroto sat right beside them because they were the main cast.

"I'm going to—" Hiroto said, relaxed.

"Sure. That'll be fun," Fubuki interrupted Hiroto, smiling.

Hiroto was irritated of what Fubuki did, but he had no choice. He made up his mind to just not talk for the rest of the time they are touring around.

"We're going to have so much fun!" Kirari exclaimed.

Suddenly, Kirari felt a sharp pain on her chest which caused her to lean back on her seat and her mood to completely change. Seiji knew that there was something wrong with Kirari. He looked at Kirari as she stared at the clouds out the window while her fist was on her chest. Seiji showed a face of worry that Hiroto noticed. Hiroto had never seen Seiji look so worried before, but now, he had an idea how much Seiji loved Kirari.

Hours after the flight, the cast were taken to their hotel from the airport by a private bus. Some of them were exhausted, but most still had some energy left for they slept during the flight. Kirari, who slept most of the time, still looked sick as she leaned her head on Seiji's shoulder. Seiji knew there was definitely something wrong with her, but she lied whenever he asked.

When they arrived in the hotel, they had their designated rooms. Kirari and Fubuki shared a room while Seiji and Hiroto shared the room beside the girls'. They were told that they are allowed to visit each other's rooms, but they are not allowed to sleep in a room with the opposite sex even if they were married or a couple.

Seiji helped Kirari bring her suitcase to her room while Fubuki, who already brought her things to their room, helped Hiroto unpack some of his clothes to put in his closet. When they finally finished bringing their things, Kirari started to prepare for their touring for the rest of the day and grabbed her camera, a thin sweater for the spring weather and her hat.

"Let's go, Seiji-ku—"

"Stay here, Kirari," Seiji interrupted, taking Kirari's hat off of her head.

"But—"

"You're sick. I can tell. Just stay here. I'll tour around and get souvenirs for you, okay?" Seiji said, pushing Kirari to sit on her bed.

"No."

Seiji wasn't shocked to hear Kirari's answer, but was disappointed.

"I'm fine. I promise," Kirari stated as she looked at Seiji with her sparkling, blue eyes.

Seiji was powerless to her. He was powerless not just to her eyes, but to her words, her sweet scent, her fair skin, her lovely voice, her dyed dark brown hair and her everything. Seiji wasn't afraid to admit to himself that he is powerless to Kirari because he loved her so much.

"Just hold onto my hand and don't go anywhere without me," Seiji sighed, placing the hat back on Kirari's head.

Kirari's face lit up in happiness from Seiji's kindness. She was also glad that Seiji cared about her about so much. She was glad to have him in her life.

Kirari, Seiji, Hiroto and Fubuki all walked around to visit the village's shrine and the small souvenir shops that sprouted in some unexpected places. After that, they walked downtown to have some more fun. There, they ate in a café with different types of confectionaries from different places like Paris, New York, and of course, Tokyo.

"I'm surprised you didn't eat a lot of crepes, Kirari," Fubuki giggled, remembering the crepe-eating Kirari from the past.

"Same here," Kirari laughed with her.

Seiji felt a little relieved to see Kirari looking better than before, however, Hiroto looked at Kirari like there was something wrong with her. Kirari, who's fist was still on held up on her chest, saw Hiroto's sharp gaze. She started to feel worried because she knew Hiroto can sense something that she didn't want him or anyone else know.

"I have an idea!" Kirari exclaimed, causing them to stop walking in the middle of the street.

"Karaoke!" she exclaimed once again.

They all agreed to her idea and looked for the karaoke place nearby. When they arrived, they rented a room for them to use for the rest of the day. There, they found some songs from the past like Kirari's debut song, '_Koi Kana_'. Kirari and Seiji also sang the English duet, 'No Air', by Jordin Sparks and Chris Brown. Fubuki and Hiroto didn't want to lose, so they also sang the English duet, 'Hate that I Love You', by Rihanna and Ne-Yo. After sometime, Fubuki and Seiji decided to battle each other, leaving Kirari to sit down and rest and Hiroto to continue watching.

Kirari was having such a great time while cheering Seiji on that she had forgotten about the pains she was feeling in her chest. However, she was starting to reach her limit. Kirari felt a sharper pain, causing her to wince and grab on to her chest. She shut her eyes close, hoping that the pain would go away and that no one would notice her.

Surprisingly, Seiji and Fubuki were so determined not to lose that they didn't notice what Hiroto did. He got up and pulled Kirari out of the noisy karaoke room to the extremely silent hallway.

"Go back to the hotel," Hiroto said, quickly letting go of Kirari's arm.

"No, I don't want to," Kirari hard-headedly replied.

"I said go back to the hotel!" Hiroto roared, his temper reaching its limit.

"No! Why do you care? I'm fine, alright! I don't need your care anyways!" Kirari yelled back with all her courage.

Kirari couldn't take it any longer and she decided to let go of herself. Her body felt weak and her vision was now blurry. Kirari knew that her body will soon fall to the ground when suddenly, she felt Hiroto's strong arms catch her. She wanted to protest against him, but she was too weak and just fainted in his arms.

He carried her without saying anything to Seiji and Fubuki, who were still inside the karaoke room. Before he left the place, he told the cashier to inform Seiji and Fubuki that he and Kirari went back to the hotel for she wasn't feeling well. On the way there, Hiroto didn't look at the unconscious Kirari's face even just for once. He kept his eyes in front of him and paid attention to the road.

When he arrived at the hotel, he brought Kirari to his and Seiji's room instead for he didn't have the key to Kirari and Fubuki's room. There, he placed Kirari on Seiji's bed, tucking her inside the blanket. He grabbed a hotel towel and soaked it in cold water and placed it on Kirari's head. He knew Kirari didn't have a fever for she wasn't warm, but he knew that the towel will help her body feel at least a little better.

Hiroto looked at Kirari's face, seeing her feel whatever the pain she was feeling. While staring at her face, Hiroto started remembering more things about his past without his knowing. Hiroto could feel his head starting to hurt, but he endured it to remember the rest of whatever he's thinking of.

In his memories, he could see himself lying in bed while Kirari nursed him. He was sick and Kirari was putting a cold wet towel on his forehead to escalate his fever. He now realized that Kirari dyed her hair a darker shade of brown because the Kirari that he was seeing in his memories had light brown hair. Hiroto couldn't hear anything, but when he was starting to hear some words come out of Kirari's mouth, his head felt intense pain and before he even knew it, he already fainted.

"Kirari…just who are you to me?" Hiroto thought, unconscious.


	19. Chapter 19: Door

**Forgotten Melody**

Chapter 19: Door

When Kirari woke up, she saw a woman wearing a long white blazer and eyeglasses that was examining her.

"Saitou…sensei?" Kirari asked as she squinted her eyes to make her vision clearer.

"How do you feel?" the doctor asked, returning the stethoscope back on her neck.

"I'm okay…but, why are you here?"

"I was called for by the director because you were sick."

"Oh no! The filming!"

"He said that you don't need to worry about it. They filmed the scenes that didn't have you in it."

"So…I've been asleep for more than a day?"

"You were asleep for three days."

"No way," thought Kirari, shocked.

There was a moment of silence inside Kirari's hotel room as the doctor returned her things in her bag and filled up the charts that had Kirari's medical records. After finishing everything, Saitou-sensei turned to Kirari with another serious look on her face like that time she talked to Kirari before she was discharged from the hospital because of the car accident.

"I'm not sure if you have a plan about this or not, but you're getting worse," Saitou-sensei warned.

Kirari didn't say anything, knowing that she was being scolded at. Saitou-sensei didn't wait for an answer because she knew Kirari wouldn't say anything. She left the room with another heavy sigh, making Kirari think more about her current situation.

"Worse…huh," Kirari thought, still looking at the blankets that were covered her as she leaned on the bed's head board.

Few minutes later, Seiji and the director came in with a basket full of flowers and gifts.

"How are you, Tsukishima-san?" the director asked, placing the basket on her nightstand.

"I'm feeling better, sir. I'm sorry for missing three days of filming," Kirari said, bowing her head in apology and respect.

"No, no, Tsukishima-san. Your health is my priority. You're welcome to come out and join the set once you feel a little better, okay?"

"Thank you so much, sir."

"Well, I'm going to head on out. Get plenty of rest, okay, Tsukishima-san?"

"Yes sir."

Kirari's bright smiling face made the director feel a little at ease. Seiji felt relieved to see her smile, too, but he still wanted to be careful.

"How are you feeling?" Seiji asked, sitting on the bed and holding Kirari's hand.

"I'm doing better."

"What did Saitou-sensei said?"

"She said I was just stressed because of quickly returning to work after my recovery," Kirari lied with a fake smile.

Seiji told her to be more careful and not to push herself over her limit. Kirari gave him a smile that should've given him relief, but instead he felt more worried. Out of the blue, he then pulls Kirari towards him and hugs her tightly.

"To be honest…your smiles worry me sometimes," Seiji said, his eyes closed as he felt Kirari's heartbeat.

Kirari listened to him, her eyes still wide in shock.

"Your smiles are very deceitful, Kirari…I don't know if you're smiling because you were able to deceive me by telling me you're fine when you're not…I don't know if you're smiling because you were able to hide how you really feel…or if you're actually smiling truthfully."

"Seiji-kun," Kirari thought, her eyes softening a little bit as she felt bad about making him worry about her too much.

"I really don't want to lose you, Kirari. I love you with all my heart."

"Same here, Seiji-kun!" Kirari exclaimed, putting her arms around him.

"I love you so much, Seiji-kun! I'm glad you're here for me! I'm really…really glad," Kirari started crying tears of joy and relief.

Seiji and Kirari stayed that way for a little more time so that she could calm herself and they could treasure the moment they were having. Without their knowing, someone was eavesdropping outside the door.

The next day, Kirari got out of bed so that she could finally start acting her parts for the film. Before she headed out to the set, she walked next door and lightly knocked on the door. Kirari wasn't surprised when Hiroto was the one that opened the door.

"Seiji's not here," he said, his hair still a mess.

"I know."

"Then why are you here?"

"To thank you…and apologize," Kirari said as she looked away from his dark brown eyes.

"No need," Hiroto said as he turned around to shut the door.

Suddenly, the door wouldn't shut, but Hiroto had already figured out why it wouldn't because of the faint 'Ouch' that he heard coming from the girl on the other side of the door. When he turned back around, Kirari's hand was in between which prevented the door from closing.

"Idiot!" Hiroto exclaimed, seeing Kirari's hand and pained face.

He quickly grabbed her by the wrist and pulled her into the room. He lightly pushed her so that she would sit on Seiji's bed. Then, he quickly ran to the bathroom and grabbed the emergency kit and a small stool to sit on. Hiroto placed the small black stool in front of Kirari and sat on it so that he would be shorter than Kirari. She didn't know what Hiroto was going to do, but Kirari knew he was going to help her.

Hiroto grabbed Kirari's hand and applied some ointment that would help it get numb. He then wrapped it around with lots of layers of bandages so that it would look like a cast.

"Don't do that again, idiot!" Hiroto said, cleaning up after the mess he made to ease Kirari's hand's pain.

He got up to return the kit to the bathroom and when he turned around, Kirari was standing so close to him with her shining blue eyes.

"Thank you so much, Kazama-kun! And I'm sorry…for all those insults I told you! I'm really sorry!" Kirari said, her eyes full of sincerity.

Kirari looked at Hiroto, thinking that he was probably annoyed of her because he was hiding his face by looking at the ground. Kirari was starting to think that coming to the boys' room to apologize and thank him for bringing her back to the hotel was a little too much. However, out of the blue, she felt something warm and gentle on top of her head.

It was Hiroto's hand.

He placed his hand on Kirari's head to pat her like a lost kitten. Kirari blushed and felt warm because of his gentleness. She hadn't felt that gentleness in years especially since Hiroto had forgotten about her.

"Just don't go sticking your hand between doors," Hiroto said, finally looking up to give Kirari a gentle smile and a warm gaze.

Kirari nodded with a smile on her face, feeling her heart racing. She couldn't think straight when she saw Hiroto's kind smile. Before she left for America, she would always get that kind of smile from both Hiroto and Seiji, but when she came back, she only got that kind of smile from Seiji because Hiroto didn't remember her at all.

"I didn't know you two were best friends," Fubuki interrupted as she opened the door.

"Fubuki," Hiroto mumbled.

"I'm glad that you two are getting along because Hiroto really needs a best friend like you, Kirari," Fubuki said as she walked towards Hiroto and entwining her arm with his.

"Oh…uhh…yeah! Kazama-kun's a good friend," Kirari replied, smiling awkwardly.

"Well, I have to go. I'll see the both of you at the set," Kirari excused herself as she walked out of the room.

Kirari shut the door behind her and leaned on it, her uninjured hand still on the knob.

"That's true…we're just friends," Kirari thought to herself, looking a little disappointed.


	20. Chapter 20: Meaning

**Forgotten Melody**

Chapter 20: Meaning

"What was that all about?" Hiroto angrily asked Fubuki as she sat on his bed.

"What?" Fubuki asked as if she hadn't done anything wrong.

Hiroto walked up to Fubuki, who was sitting down on his bed, relaxed.

"We just finished filming some parts that I'm in. You're probably going to be up next," she said as she let her back fall on his bed while she closed her eyes to relax.

"Don't even try to change the subject, Fubuki! She was trying to be nice by coming here to apologize and thank me for what I did for her when she was sick," Hiroto roared, getting frustrated to see Fubuki's calmness towards her acting mean to Kirari.

Fubuki opened her eyes, showing evil and frustration. She sat up and stood up close to Hiroto. She walked to him, keeping her evil gaze on him. For the first time, Hiroto felt threatened by her terrifying gaze and stepped back to get away from her. Sadly, the wall was there to stop his getting away from her. Having no other choice, Hiroto stood in front of Fubuki, leaning on the wall while she pushed her body against his, her royal purple eyes still on Hiroto's.

"I'm your girlfriend, Hiroto," Fubuki reminded him, her hands on his chest.

"For some reason," Hiroto, who was shocked of what she said even if he already knew that fact, said after he gathered up his courage and pushed her away from him as she tried to put her lips on his.

"It doesn't feel like you're my girlfriend," he said, walking away.

"Especially when I think about who Kirari is to me."

With what Hiroto said, Fubuki's dark amethyst eyes widened in surprise, feeling as if she was just threatened. Hiroto walked out of his room, leaving Fubuki, who couldn't move because she's still in shock. Fubuki clenched her fist as her eyes started getting watery.

"Why? I've done everything, but I still don't have you!" the blue-haired idol thought as she fell to her knees, the tears of aggravation finally coming out.

Fubuki remembered that day when she finally got sick and tired of everything and just wished for everything to go her way no matter what the payment is.

"I'm not giving up."

* * *

"Okay, are we ready?" the director asked as the staff got out of the way for filming to start.

"And…action!"

It had been two months since filming started and the movie is still in progress. They have already filmed two-thirds of the movie. Since Kirari had already recovered, they've been filming some of her solo scenes, scenes with Seiji and scenes with Fubuki. Kirari hadn't filmed a lot of scenes with Hiroto because of his recent absences. With Kirari's recovery came Hiroto's painful remembering of his memories, however this wasn't the reason why Hiroto wasn't filming with Kirari.

Hiroto, ever since that day he had the argument with Fubuki, started remembering more things in his past. Most were when he was with Seiji and some were when he was with his family. He also started remembering about why he lost his memories, but whenever he would remember only a little about he and Kirari's past. He started realizing that he only gets headaches whenever he remembers memories that include Kirari in them. He also realized that he only remembers his and Kirari's past whenever he's with her.

That was the reason why he didn't want to film their scenes just yet. Hiroto would only film with Kirari if it's a scene that doesn't consist only of the both of them. The film has to have at least two other people in it or Hiroto would get hurt.

"And…cut!" the director called out to end the scene.

"Great job, everyone! That's it for today!"

Kirari and Seiji walked back to the hotel to get ready to go to lunch. They talked about how much fun they were having while filming the movie. When Seiji mentioned Hiroto's name, Kirari started feeling insecure which was something Seiji immediately noticed. He stopped talking to give Kirari some time to think in silence.

"Seiji-kun," Kirari said as she stopped walking.

Seiji turned back around to look at Kirari, who was looking at the rocky path they were walking on.

"Do you think he's avoiding me?" she looked up, her eyes full of hope that Seiji would be able to comfort her.

Seiji walked back to her and put her head on his chest as he embraced her. Kirari was a little surprised, but a little better.

"I don't think so, Kirari. He probably just needs some time to rest. Don't worry, okay?" Seiji said as he stroked her soft hair.

Kirari smiled and put her arms around Seiji. They walked back together to the hotel with their hands together. They separated from each other when they arrived in front of their doors. The couple agreed to meet each other at the hotel's lobby so they could go to a restaurant downtown for lunch after they get ready.

When Seiji closed the door after entering his room, he waited and listened for Kirari's door to close. After hearing the thud that was made by the door after it was closed, Seiji's gentle eyes quickly changed into eyes that could kill in a quick amount of time. He walked towards Hiroto, who was looking out their hotel room's window.

"Hiroto, what do you think you're doing?" Seiji asked, his voice full of composure even if his azure eyes were showing anger.

"I haven't done anything," Hiroto calmly replied, his back still towards Seiji as he looked at the warm spring afternoon outside.

Hearing Hiroto's calm voice towards something that he shouldn't be calm about, Seiji grabbed his shoulder to make Hiroto face him and punched his face, causing Hiroto to fall back and hit the floor.

"Do you know how much Kirari's hurting? Do you know that she's worrying about you so much? You haven't properly looked at her in the eyes for two weeks now!" Seiji growled in anger, his fists still clenched.

"Aren't you happy about that?" Hiroto asked with a mischievous smile on his face as he wiped the blood on the side of his lips.

Seiji's angered eyes grew wide in shock and confusion, not knowing why Hiroto would say something like that.

"Aren't you happy that I'm not close to your girlfriend? Won't you get mad and jealous if I was close to her?" Hiroto continued, slowly getting up.

"Why would I get jealous when you already have Fubuki?" Seiji asked back.

"You're right. I already have Fubuki. And you have her. She's nothing to me."

Seiji's eyes returned back from its shocked look to its angered one. Seiji wanted to agree with Hiroto, but he knows that Kirari should mean at least just a little to Hiroto since all three of them had a past.

"You may be back," Seiji said as he turned his back against Hiroto.

"But you're definitely not the Hiroto that I met before."

Seiji walked out of their room after grabbing the shirt lying on his bed. Hiroto was left all alone in the room to recollect on what happened, what he had done and said, and what Seiji said before he left the room.

"Not the Hiroto that you met before…huh," Hiroto thought, looking back out the window.

* * *

Seiji and Kirari walked downtown to the restaurant that they planned to go to and eat their lunch in. Seiji was more cheerful than ever so that he could hide the anger and frustration that he felt before he met Kirari at the lobby after he had an argument with Hiroto. Even if Seiji was trying his hardest, something was odd in the atmosphere that was residing in the midst of Kirari and Seiji as they walked hand in hand.

"Kirari," Seiji said as he stopped walking.

Kirari, who took an extra step after Seiji had stopped, was pulled back a little when Seiji pulled her close to him so that they could look at each other eye to eye.

"I know there's something wrong. Take it out," Seiji straight-forwardly said.

"Just like I thought…it can't be done, can it?" Kirari said, not bothering to hide her worry, but still smiled awkwardly while her free hand clenched onto her blue sundress' skirt.

Seiji waited for her to finish as he watched her awkward smile slowly disappear when she realized that it was more serious than she thought.

"I thought I'd mean to him even if it's just as a friend…but I guess mean nothing to Hiroto-kun."

Kirari remembered hearing their conversation when she was going to come in to ask Seiji a question.

* * *

Kirari and Seiji separated when they arrived in front of their hotel rooms' doors. They promised to meet each other at the hotels' lobby after getting ready. When Kirari entered her room after gently closing the door behind her, it didn't take a while to hear Seiji's door close.

Kirari quickly opened her closet to look for a sundress to wear. When Kirari saw the white halter sundress with frilly hems, she decided to wear it, but she also saw the sky-blue strapless sun dress with no frills on her bed.

Since she couldn't decide which one to change into, she went hurriedly ran out to ask Seiji which one to wear. Kirari excitedly took the two dresses and ran out.

Kirari knocked lightly on the door to avoid disturbing Hiroto if he was asleep. When Kirari heard no answer, she thought it was okay for her to go in, so she slowly opened the door to take a peek before going in. Kirari's eyes suddenly widened when he saw Hiroto looking out the window with Seiji behind him.

Kirari didn't want to interrupt them and decided to quietly leave, but when she heard Seiji's yelling at Hiroto for the first time, she couldn't leave as if she was glued to the carpeted floor and was forced to hear the rest of the conversation.

"Hiroto, what do you think you're doing?" Seiji asked.

"I haven't done anything," answered Hiroto.

There was a brief silence after that, so Kirari decided to take another peek to see what was going on. Then, he saw Seiji lift up his right fist while his left hand pulled Hiroto's shoulder so that he would face him. When Hiroto was facing Seiji, he quickly punched Hiroto's face, sending him to the ground and making Kirari gasp in surprise and worry.

Kirari hid her face and leaned on the wall, still listening to the two boys' conversation.

"Do you know how much Kirari's hurting? Do you know that she's worrying about you so much? You haven't properly looked at her in the eyes for two weeks now!" Seiji growled in anger.

When she heard her name, Kirari's eyes slightly closed in gentleness, yet worry.

"Aren't you happy about that?" Hiroto asked.

Kirari's eyes widened again, hearing Hiroto's question right after Seiji's.

"Aren't you happy that I'm not close to your girlfriend? Won't you get mad and jealous if I was close to her?" he continued.

After hearing Hiroto's words, Kirari's baby-blue eyes started shining when tears started forming, making her squint.

"Why would I get jealous when you already have Fubuki?" Seiji asked.

"You're right. I already have Fubuki. And you have her. She's nothing to me." Hiroto calmly answered.

Kirari had lost it and her tears flowed out as her eyes widened once again and her head bow down in disappointment and pain.

"Of course," Kirari thought, tightly holding onto the white sundress as her tears fell onto the floor.

She walked back to her room and quietly closed the door behind her. Kirari leaned her back onto the door to keep anyone from coming and slowly fell to the floor. She covered her face with the white sundress to muffle the painful sobs that she had no choice, but to let out.

* * *

Without Kirari's realizing it, tears were already flowing out of her eyes as she looked at Seiji's feet while her mind was still thinking about what Hiroto said.

Seiji, who could no longer watch Kirari's tears stream down, pulled her to his chest and embraced her tightly. This was something that he always does to try and comfort Kirari ever since they became a couple. Kirari, whose eyes would always widen in shock whenever Seiji would do something like that, just closed them and cried her eyes out.

Seiji held in his anger and pain as he listened to Kirari's sobs and cries echo out to field. He could feel her trembling body and her beating heart. Seiji wanted her to stop crying, but he didn't know how to because he himself, wanted to cry for he was sick and tired of having to see the person he loved cry in front of him.

"Hiroto…where are you?" Seiji thought, his eyes looking out into the distant.


	21. Chapter 21: Passionately

**Forgotten Melody**

Chapter 21: Passionately

"Hiroto, are you feeling better?" Fubuki asked as she closed the door after entering Hiroto's hotel room.

Hiroto didn't answer for he was thinking about something in his mind. A few moments after Seiji left him after their argument, memories started flooding his mind once again, but they weren't the usual memories that he would remember.

Fubuki was in it.

"Are you really my girlfriend?" Hiroto asked, still staring at the blank wall as he remembered the memories that flowed in his mind earlier.

"Of course, I am. What are you talking a—"

"Don't lie to me, Fubuki," Hiroto interrupted.

Fubuki's awkward smile changed to a shocked face as if Hiroto knew that Fubuki was lying. To make it worse, Hiroto looked into her eyes like he could see through her. Fubuki was on the verge of giving up, but of course, she was stronger than that.

"I'm not lying to you, Hiroto," Fubuki replied.

"Of course, you're not. How could you lie to me when all you've done is love me and be the perfect girlfriend?" Hiroto weakly smiled, holding Fubuki's hand.

Fubuki hugged Hiroto tightly with a smile however, Hiroto had something else in his mind.

"I'll find out the truth one way or the other."

* * *

"Kirari," Seiji said, lifting her chin up so that their eyes would meet.

"Don't give up. I'm here. Don't you forget that," Seiji continued as he wiped Kirari's tears away.

Kirari tried her best to smile for the person that loved her so dearly. She knew Seiji well enough that she could tell he was also in pain because of her hurting. Kirari doesn't want Seiji to feel bad for her, so she decided to smile for him because she knew that it was the least she could do to make him feel better.

The two proceeded to walk downtown to eat their lunch where they ate their food quietly. Seiji was still able to tell that Kirari wasn't feeling well, so he decided to take her to fun places so that she would get her mind off of it.

"Let's go, Kirari," Seiji said, taking her hand after she finished sipping her drink.

"To where?"

"Just come," Seiji smiled.

Kirari didn't know where they were going, but she wasn't scared to go anywhere with Seiji because she knew that Seiji would never bring her to any place where she could get hurt.

When they finally reached their destination, Kirari was amazed to see a big Ferris wheel that rotated in front of her. The village they were in was holding a little fair which included rides and small stalls that sold food and souvenirs.

"Wow!" Kirari exclaimed.

"I remember going to a fair when I was in America," Kirari continued as they entered the fair.

Before they went on the rides, they decided to get their pictures taken at the photobooth as a remembrance. After that, they walked around and played some arcade games. Seiji even won a stuffed toy for Kirari. The two also shared a cotton candy on their way to their last ride which was the Ferris wheel.

Before getting on, Seiji whispered something to the operator of the ride.

"Hey mister, can you do me a favor?" Seiji asked.

"Sure thing. What is it?" the ride operator kindly replied.

"When we reach the top, can you stay there for a little longer than usual?"

"I see. You want to have a romantic moment with your girl?"

Seiji nodded, his face red.

"Ok. I understand. Don't do anything rash, okay?"

Seiji nodded and thanked the operator and gave him money for his tip. He grabbed Kirari's hand and they went on the ferris wheel. On their way there, they were able to see the greenery and the majestic setting sun.

"Wow, it's so beautiful," Kirari exclaimed.

Seiji nodded in agreement with Kirari, also looking at the orange ball that gradually sunk behind the mountains.

"Seiji-kun, thank you for making me feel better. And for the stuffed toy, too. It looks just like Naa-san," Kirari smiled as she tightly hugged the Naa-san-look-alike.

"Now that you mention it, where's Naa-san? He's always with you before you left for America and I haven't seen him since," Seiji asked while he looked at the stuffed toy.

Seiji had been wondering about that ever since Kirari came back, but never had the time to bring it up. When he turned his head up to look at Kirari, her eyes were showing pain and sadness.

"He's gone," Kirari forcefully smiled to keep her tears from overflowing.

"I…I'm so sorry," Seiji said in shock.

"I haven't told you why I returned back to Japan, did I?" Kirari asked, her hands trembling in fear as she remembered the reason why she came back to Japan from the beginning.

"When I got there, people already knew about me. Maybe because I was friends with Tina-san," Kirari recalled.

Seiji knew who Kirari was talking about because when they went to New York, Tina's bodyguards mistook them for her fans and kidnapped them. They became friends and even asked Kirari and Seiji to perform with her on her concert.

"I became a big hit when I got there. I was taught how to speak, read and write English. Before I even knew it, I was becoming an American. Even the way I lived was replaced by the American culture. I no longer ate Japanese food or drank tea. I'm so ashamed now that I think about it," Kirari continued, her face blushing in shame of how her moving there changed her.

"One day, Naa-san and I got in a fight because I refused to eat the Japanese food he prepared for me. I also threatened him that I was going to put him up for adoption and buy a dog because that's what most of the Americans have as a pet. To make it worse, I told him that he was the one holding me back from doing the things that I really want to do."

Kirari was still trembling in fear, but was still strong to keep her tears from coming out.

"I hurt his feelings and he ran away. I didn't bother to look for him because I was busy with my friends and my career. I thought he would return like always, but he never came back."

Seiji was shocked to hear about his not returning. Since he didn't return, Seiji was able to figure out that his feelings were really hurt; more hurt than ever before.

"A month later, when I was walking down the streets at night, a group of punks asked me to go with them and of course, I refused. They didn't let me go easily so they held my arms really tight and tried to harass me, but someone came to my rescue."

Seiji expected Kirari to smile since someone came to her rescue, but her expression was starting to look worse. Seiji was also able to tell that Kirari was going to give up soon and just let her tears roll out.

"It was Naa-san," Kirari revealed, tightly holding onto the stuffed toy.

"He was able to fight them and defeat them easily, but they didn't give up and kept on chasing us with their motorcycles. Naa-san was starting to get tired, but he still kept on running to find us a safe place. We hid in tight alleys and dark streets and endured the cold night. After running for so long, we finally found a police station to run into and report them, but they had found us and chased us again with their motorcycles. 'We're almost there, Naa-san,' I smiled in relief. I saw Naa-san smile, but he had teardrops coming out of his eyes."

Kirari was now crying without her knowing. She still held onto her stuffed toy as they finally reached the top of the Ferris wheel.

"I didn't know why he was crying, but when we were starting to cross the street, Naa-san pushed me so I'd be able to walk further. I fell to the ground because I lost control. Then after that, all I heard was a screeching noise so loud that it made me close my eyes. When I looked back at the middle of the road, I saw Naa-san."

Seiji didn't want her to continue any further because he knew she was already hurting.

"Naa-san died. He…H-he…got ran over by…the m-motorcycle that was chasing us. He died…just to protect me. Now…I'm all alone," Kirari sobbed.

Kirari couldn't continue anymore and cried her eyes out. She covered her face with her trembling hands, still not being able to accept the fact that Naa-san was gone. Seiji couldn't do anything to stop her hurting, but he helped comfort her by hugging her tightly so she could share her trembling with him.

"I'm sure Naa-san's in a better place now. He died to protect you, Kirari. He died so he wouldn't have to see you suffer. Do you think he wants to see you crying?" Seiji asked, slowly pulling Kirari's hands away from her face.

Kirari stopped her sobbing to listen to Seiji as the Ferris wheel started moving so the passengers could get off.

"I know I shouldn't be saying things like this, but Kirari, this is a part of life. We're going to lose people in our lives and sometimes, it would be hard to accept, but we're going to keep going because I'm sure they're still watching us from above. They wouldn't want to see us crying, would they?" Seiji comforted, full of determination.

"Kirari, I'm still here. I'm not planning on replacing Naa-san, but I'll be here for you all the time. You'll never be alone," Seiji continued.

Kirari hugged him tight in relief of what Seiji said. She didn't want to let go, her hands still trembling.

"Thank you for everything, Seiji-kun," Kirari smiled, the last drop of tear falling down her cheeks.

"I love you so much, Kirari."

Kirari let go of Seiji to look at his face that was illuminated by the orange rays of the sunset. Seiji lifted up her chin and slowly moved his face towards hers. Kirari gradually closed her eyes as she felt Seiji's nose touch hers. Seiji closed his eyes when he felt Kirari's slow breaths.

Finally, their lips touched, making their hearts beat as one. Seiji's heart beat faster and louder, knowing that the soft sensation that he was feeling was Kirari's lips touching his.

Kirari felt the same, too. She was nervous, yet overjoyed because she knew she wasn't alone at all. Seiji was still thinking about her even if she had left the country.

"I'm so glad…that I have Seiji-kun," Kirari thought, her heart racing and her mind full of bliss.

"Oh! Didn't I tell you not to do anything rash?"

When Kirari and Seiji's lips separated and opened their eyes, they saw people taking pictures of them while the ride operator helped them out. They were drowned in each other's kiss that they didn't realize that it was time for them to get off the ride. Their faces were red when they realized that the people there saw their kissing and were even given the opportunity to take pictures.

"I-I'm so sorry!" Kirari and Seiji both yelled as they ran away from the crowd with red faces.

They continued running on their way back to the hotel, thinking that the crowd was still chasing them to take more pictures. Before they reached the hotel, they stopped to catch their breaths and watch the sun finally sink down the mountains, leaving no orange rays. When they looked at each other's red faces, they started laughing as if there was no tomorrow.

Seiji grabbed Kirari's hand and pulled her to him to give her another hug.

"I really love you, Kirari," Seiji said, passionately looking at her.

Kirari closed her eyes again and shared another passionate kiss with Seiji.

"I really love you, too, Seiji-kun. Stay by my side forever."


	22. Chapter 22: Alone

**Forgotten Melody**

Chapter 22: Alone

When they returned to the hotel, Seiji and Kirari were greeted by the director and Kirari's manager.

"Kumoi-san, why are you here?" Kirari asked.

Kirari's manager and SHIPS' manager, the Chairman, didn't go with them to the country where the movie was being filmed because their agency's building is still busy with calls about the movie from broadcasting studios and for scheduled photo shoots and interviews. However, today, Kumoi-san was able to come and visit.

"I was just checking up on all of you on behalf of the Chairman," Kumoi-san replied, fixing her eyeglasses.

"Tsukishima-san, is it okay for you to film tonight? You have some scenes that are needed to be filmed at night and it won't be that cold tonight, so I figured this is the right time. Is it okay with you?" the director asked.

"Yes, sir," Kirari smiled.

"Great! Thank you, Tsukishima-san!"

"You're welcome, sir. I'll just go and change and I'll go to the set. Where will it be at?"

"By the lake. You know where it is, right?"

"Yes, sir. I'll meet you there," Kirari excitedly waved as she ran to her room.

"Kirari, do you need me to come with you?" Seiji asked, stopping her to look back.

"Oh, I'll be fine, Seiji-kun. Thank you," Kirari smiled, making the room light up even brighter.

Kirari started running again and was able to catch the closing elevator. The director already left the hotel lobby to get ready for the filming. The only ones left in the lobby were Kumoi-san and Seiji, who waited for Kirari's elevator close.

"She seems happier. Did something happen?" Kumoi-san asked, still looking at the elevator.

"Oh! Uhh…n-nothing! Nothing h-happened!" Seiji panicked, his face bright red.

When Kumoi-san looked at him, she noticed that his lips were a little pink with some gloss. She already knew what happened and didn't bother to ask anymore.

"I see. Congratulations," Kumoi-san smiled.

Seiji blushed some more, causing him to look down on the ground to hide his face. Kumoi-san asked him if he was going to the filming with her to watch Kirari. Of course, he agreed. They waited for Kirari and walked with her to the set. When they arrived there, Kumoi-san and Seiji were behind all the filming equipments to not get in the way. While watching the filming, Seiji decided to tell Kumoi-san what he and Kirari talked about when they were in the Ferris wheel.

"I see. So, she told you about the reason why she came back," Kumoi-san said, looking at the set.

"I don't blame her for coming back. Kirari already lost her family and then, she lost her treasured Naa-san."

"Wait, Kumoi-san. What do you mean by 'Kirari already lost her family'?" Seiji interrupted.

"Didn't she tell you that her father, mother, and brother were in a plane crash?"

"What?" Seiji exclaimed.

"She only told me about Naa-san's death."

"I've said too much, haven't I? But Naa-san's death isn't the only reason why she came back here. Another reason is that Takashi and Luna, her parents, and Subaru, her brother, were all in a plane crash two years ago. Of course, they're gone."

"What happened?" Seiji asked in shock.

"Kirari and her family planned on going back to Japan to take a vacation, but since she was busy with her work, she just told them to go ahead and she'll catch up if she has time. The plane had some complications and crashed on the shores of Hawaii. Due to the shock from the news, Kirari's grandmother, who stayed in Japan, had a heart attack and also passed away. Kirari was left with Naa-san, but you already know what happened. After Naa-san's death a year ago, Kirari decided to come back home here in Japan," Kumoi-san narrated while watching the cheerful Kirari.

"I can't…believe it," Seiji said, his blue eyes wide open as he turned to look at Kirari who could still smile as if nothing happened in the past.

"There's another reason to why she came back, but I don't know if I should tell you. It's her own decision if she wants you to know about it."

Silence lingered between the two as they watched Kirari act out her scenes. Seiji's mind was full of sadness and pain when he thought about her smiling face despite of all the suffering she went through.

Kirari always kept a smile on her face and didn't show anyone that she was in pain. She returned back to Japan because she has nothing left but Seiji, Hiroto, Kumoi-san, and Chairman Muranishi. She was still able to fool everyone with her smiles and her cheerfulness even if she knows that she was also starting to lose Hiroto, a person that she thought she would never lose.

"You've been in so much pain and yet, you still manage to brighten up someone's life with your deceitful smile," Seiji thought, watching Kirari.

Seiji, who was lost in his thoughts, didn't know that Kirari was done filming. Kumoi-san thanked Kirari for her hard work and walked over to the director to discuss more things about the filming.

"Seiji-kun," Kirari called out as she walked towards him.

"Seiji-kun, how did I—"

"I'm sorry."

To Kirari's surprise, Seiji hugged her tightly and cried on her shoulders. It wasn't the normal hug that would surprise Kirari. Usually, Seiji would grab her hand and pulled her to him and tightly hug her, but this time, he just broke down on her shoulders and cried. Kirari didn't know what was going on, her eyes still widened in shock.

"Seiji-kun?"

"I'm really sorry."

Seiji kept on crying on Kirari's shoulders, still thinking about what happened to Kirari. She didn't know what to do, but hugged him anyways to comfort him.

"You're not alone anymore, Kirari," Seiji thought, tightening his hug.

"I'll be here for you. Forever. I promise," he thought, finally finishing his cries.

When he let go of Kirari, he quickly wiped his tears away and smiled at him.

"Umm, Seiji-kun, was I that bad that you started crying?" Kirari asked while she fidgeted with her fingers as her face turned red in embarrassment.

"No, no. You did really great," Seiji laughed.

"Then, why were you crying?"

"I'm just really happy to have you in my life, Kirari," Seiji kindly smiled, brushing away some hair off of Kirari's face.

"Me, too, Seiji-kun," Kirari said as she held Seiji's hand to her face to feel the warmth of his palm.

She closed her eyes to feel more of his warmth. Seiji looked at Kirari's gentle smiling face and gave her another hug. Seiji decided to be Kirari's rock. The strong rock that she can lean onto whenever she's feeling weak. The rock that will protect her from anymore pain.

Seiji tilted her head up and kissed her again, their eyes closed as they shared another passionate moment. The staff was so busy that they didn't notice that the two were sharing a sweet moment.

"Kirari, when are you going to tell him about the other reason why you came back?" Kumoi-san thought, seeing them kiss.


	23. Chapter 23: Important

**Forgotten Melody**

Chapter 23: Important

"He's finally out."

"Thank goodness."

"I'm glad he's out. We're almost done with filming."

"There's only two weeks left. I'm glad he's finally going to do it."

Kirari and Seiji walked to the set together, their hands entwined. They were wondering what all the staff members were talking about, but they discovered that Hiroto's finally out of his hotel room and is ready to film the remaining scenes. Those remaining scenes are scenes that consist of only Hiroto and Kirari.

"Kazama-san, I'm glad you're finally feeling better," the director greeted as Hiroto and Fubuki walked towards him.

"I'm sorry for causing you troubles, sir," Hiroto replied.

"Oh no, everything's good. Your health is my priority. We're actually going to finish the movie a little earlier than expected."

"That's good to hear."

"Now, everyone! Get ready for filming!" the director yelled, causing the staff to rush.

Fubuki and Hiroto stayed together until they were ready to film. Fubuki kept asking Hiroto if he was going to be okay, and of course, he said he'll be alright so she wouldn't have to worry. When Seiji saw this, he was glad that Kirari was already called by the make-up artists and was able to avoid seeing Hiroto and Fubuki.

"Ready. And…action!" the director cued.

The scene they were filming was when Hiroto's character, Mamoru, tells Kirari's character, Maiko, about his leaving for abroad to go to college.

In this scene, Kirari was just passing by the park and bumps onto Hiroto. When Kirari saw Hiroto's distressed face, they decided to talk while sitting down on the swings.

"So, did something happen, Mamoru?" Kirari asked.

Hiroto nodded.

"Oh," Kirari said, looking at her feet as she gently moved her swing.

After a moment of silence that was a part of the story, Hiroto finally got the courage to tell Kirari what was wrong.

"I'm going to Germany for college," Hiroto said, clenching onto the swing.

"Are you serious?" Kirari exclaimed in shock.

Hiroto nodded her head.

"Please don't tell Shizuka or Hiroki. I don't want them to know."

"But—"

"Please…just don't."

Kirari looked at Hiroto as if they were having a real conversation. She felt as if the Hiroto in front of her was the Hiroto that she met a few years ago.

"And…cut!" the director yelled.

After his cue, the staff started moving around so that they could get things done faster. Hiroto stood up and walked away from Kirari to go to Fubuki.

"Yeah, that's right. I don't mean anything to him," Kirari thought, putting on a fake smile as she watched Hiroto walk away while Seiji approached her.

"Great job out there, Kirari," Seiji smiled.

"Thank you, Seiji-kun."

For the rest of the week, they filmed more scenes and extra scenes for the extra DVD they were going to give out for prizes after the movie is released in theaters. After filming, Kirari and Seiji went out to go downtown again so she could relax. Fubuki and Hiroto stayed in the hotel so that Hiroto could rest.

"Hiroto, are you sure your alright?" Fubuki asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Tomorrow's the last day of filming, isn't it? So, I'll be fine."

"Okay. Rest up and wait here. I'm going to get food for you, okay?"

"Thanks, Fubuki."

Fubuki tucked Hiroto in his bed and went out to buy food for him. Hiroto was left in his room to rest. For the past few days, he hasn't remembered memories of Kirari. He already remembered some important memories such as his family members and friends, but he still doesn't remember the whole reason why he lost those memories.

Hiroto was starting to get sleepy when suddenly, he heard some noise outside, making him curious. He didn't know who it was, but he knew it was a girl and a boy, playing around because he could hear their giggles and yells.

He stood up and opened the curtain so he could see what was going on outside. To his surprise, it was Seiji and Kirari.

Hiroto's eyes widened in surprise and jealousy, but he didn't know why he was feeling jealous. He kept on watching even if he didn't want to. He could hear Seiji and Kirari's laughter and giggles as they chased each other around. When Seiji finally caught Kirari, they shared an ardent kiss that Hiroto saw with his own eyes.

Hiroto was more surprised to see their kissing. He clenched his fist and closed the window in anger and jealousy.

"What the hell is this? Why am I feeling this way?" Hiroto angrily roared, punching the wall.

As soon as his fist hit the wall, his head started hurting again. He fell to the ground, his eyes tightly shut and his hands on his head. He was seeing memories of Kirari again.

In his memories, he could see himself talking to Kirari. She had a huge smile on her face, but he didn't. He could hear the words they were saying, causing his head to hurt more. The memory didn't take up a lot of time, but Hiroto knew it was important. He was glad that he was remembering it because it gave him more clues on why he was feeling that way towards Kirari.

* * *

"I have something to tell you, Kirari," Hiroto said, his face red.

"Same here, Hiroto-kun!"

"Really?" Hiroto asked.

"Yeah. I'm going to America to continue my career there with my mother! I'm so happy!" Kirari exclaimed, showing Hiroto her plane ticket.

"Oh. Good for you," Hiroto glumly replied.

He turned around and walked away from Kirari, who was still jumping for joy while holding her plane ticket. She didn't notice Hiroto walk away because of the joy she was feeling.

A few days later, Kirari was starting to feel as if Hiroto was avoiding her. Whenever they were in the same room, Hiroto would be far away from her and would avoid her gaze. He wouldn't talk to her, not even giving her a smile. Kirari then decided to just keep the date of her flight from Hiroto.

"I'm sorry, Hiroto-kun," Kirari said.

"Goodbye."

Two weeks after Kirari left, Hiroto finally realized that she was gone.

"What do you mean 'she already left'?" Hiroto madly yelled, slamming his hand on Chairman Muranishi's desk.

"Didn't she tell you? She was going to America?" the Chairman asked.

"Yeah, but she didn't tell me when!"

"Oh. Well, she told everyone when she was leaving."

Hiroto clenched his fist and ran away.

* * *

When Hiroto opened his eyes after remembering his lost memory, he saw Fubuki wiping his forehead.

"Fu…buki?"

"Oh, Hiroto. You're awake."

"What happened to me?" Hiroto asked, his head still a little painful.

"I found you unconscious by the window last night."

"Last night?"

"Yeah, it's afternoon."

After hearing Fubuki's answer, Hiroto quickly got up and put on his clothes.

"Where are you going?"

"What time is it?" Hiroto asked, buttoning up his shirt.

"It's 5:45. But wait, where are you going?" Fubuki asked, panicking.

"It's the last day of filming. We're filming an important scene in ten minutes. I already promised the director that we'll get it done today," Hiroto said, entering the bathroom to put on his pants.

"But you're still sick," Fubuki protested.

"I'll be fine. Let's go," Hiroto said, pulling Fubuki.

Hiroto put on his shoes and left with Fubuki. He wasn't worried about how he looks for the make-up artists would take care of it. What he was worried about was his promise to get the filming done today and Kirari. He didn't know why he was worried about Kirari, but he knew it had something to do with the memory he remembered.

"I'm here!" Hiroto exclaimed, entering the dining hall where they were going to film the last scene.

"Good! Go to the make-up artists, Kazama-san. They have your clothes and they'll take care of your make-up," the director quickly instructed.

"Hurry, people! The sunset's coming! It's already six o'clock!" the director yelled.

Hiroto let go of Fubuki's hand and went to the dressing area where the make-up artists were.

"I'm glad you made it," Seiji greeted Fubuki.

"Yeah. Hiroto forced himself out of bed just to get filming done."

"Kirari did, too," Seiji replied, watching the make-up artists put make up on Kirari.

"What do you mean?" Fubuki asked.

"She wasn't feeling well this morning after you left to buy medicine for Hiroto. She didn't want me to go inside the room, but I could hear her heavily coughing."

"Will she be alright?" the blue-haired idol asked, also looking at Kirari.

"I hope so," Seiji said with full concern.

"Okay, we're ready!" the make-up artists yelled as they finished putting make-up on Kirari and Hiroto.

When the two walked out, everybody stopped what they were doing when they saw their beautiful figures. They were shining and radiating with the help of the coming sunset. They were amazed to see them in their outfits for the last scene.

Kirari was wearing an indigo-colored, floor-length, one-shoulder dress while her hair was curled. She also wore a silver ankle strap platform that made her look a little taller. Hiroto, on the other side, wore a tuxedo with a red necktie and black shoes. His hair was nicely fixed and despite of Kirari's wearing heels, he was still a little taller than her.

"Both of you look amazing!" the director praised.

Kirari blushed, but Hiroto only said his thanks with a smile. The director explained to them that the scene is when Mamoru confesses that he loves Maiko and realized it when he was away for college however, she rejects him because she was hurt from waiting too long. After the director's explanation, they were one last time to look at their script. The director wanted the scene to be perfect because the sunset is coming and he wanted to finish filming that day.

Since it was the last day of filming, Kumoi-san came over again from the city to watch over them on behalf of the Chairman.

"Will she be okay?" Kumoi-san thought, watching Kirari read over the script.

Seiji walked over to Kirari to compliment her before they start filming, but suddenly, she started heavily coughing again. She covered her mouth and kept it there.

"Kirari, are you okay?" Seiji asked, noticing that she never took her hand away from her mouth.

Kirari nodded and stood up to go to the bathroom.

"Kirari," Seiji thought, watching her walk away.

When she reached the bathroom, she quickly turned the faucet on and washed her hands. The water that streamed down the faucet's drain was mixed with some of the liquid that was on Kirari's palm.

"This can't be happening now," Kirari thought, quickly washing her hand in panic.

Suddenly, Kirari started heavily coughing again, her eyes tightly shut in pain. When she opened her eyes, she saw more of what she wanted to wash off her hand on the sink, shocking and worrying her.

"No, I can do this. I'll be fine," Kirari thought, confidence in her mind.

Kirari walked out of the bathroom after she finished washing her palm and the sink. Out of nowhere, one of the bathroom stalls' door opened and Fubuki came out.

Without Kirari's knowing, Fubuki was there to watch her coughing. She wasn't sure what Kirari was coughing out for she couldn't really see what was on the sink, but she knew there was something wrong because Kirari was panicking.

Fubuki walked to the sink to see what was there, but only found a clean sink. However, she saw some dark-colored splatters on the floor. She squatted down to take a more careful look on what it was, her face showing curiosity when she was finally able to see it clearly.

"Blood?"


	24. Chapter 24: Overflowing

**Forgotten Melody**

Chapter 24: Overflowing

"Okay, are we all ready?" the director asked, yelling at all the staff.

Since he wanted to finish filming that day, he wanted the most important scene to look perfect with the upcoming sunset. He wanted everyone to try their best to not make a mistake and he wanted Kirari and Hiroto to be better than how they were in the past filming of the other scenes.

The staff members and the actors and actresses were ready, giving the director their thumbs up.

"Okay. Positions!" he yelled again as soon as he saw their thumbs up.

Kirari and Hiroto got in position on the spacious balcony where the important scene will be taken. Kirari was feeling nervous, but she didn't know why. She had been always nervous when filming alone with Hiroto for the last few days, but this time, she feels nervous, but she doesn't know why. Hiroto looked straight-forward and just wanted to get things done. He didn't care about how he feels or what Kirari was feeling because he was already in character.

"And…action!"

The director instructed them to stand by the arched marble rails of the balcony and look out at the setting sun as if they were remembering memories.

"Isn't it beautiful?" Maiko, Kirari's character, asked with a smile on her face.

"Yeah," Hiroto's character, Mamoru, casually replied.

A long pause was made and the leaves rustled from the wind that passed by. The wind was natural and unexpected, but it was perfect for the scene. It was as if nature was cooperating with them.

"Did you get to see these sunsets in Germany?" Maiko asked.

"Yeah," Mamoru replied.

Another pause was made that would give the audience the knowledge of how awkward it was for them to see each other at Mamoru's engagement celebration.

"Shizuka looked beautiful in that dress today," Maiko complimented with a smile on her face, yet distress in how she said it because she felt a little jealous.

"Yeah," Mamoru replied again.

The wind blew by once again and it was the time for Mamoru to break the awkward atmosphere around him and Maiko. Hiroto took a breath and prepared himself for the most important lines of the story.

Suddenly, the memories he remembered from when he passed out rushed in his head, making Hiroto break out of his character. His head wasn't hurting for it was something he already remembered, but he was panicking inside because that's all he could think of. He could see Kirari leaving and he could see her excited face in his memories. He could see his disappointment when Kirari didn't tell him about how she was leaving for America. Before Hiroto even knew it, only his and Kirari's words were the only things in his mind. His character, Mamoru, was flushed out and his lines faded away.

"Maiko," Mamoru called out, turning his body to face Maiko.

Maiko turned her body to look at Mamoru. When Kirari saw Hiroto's face, she knew there was something different about it. She could still see his determination, but he looked gentler and his eyes were showing misery.

"I love you, Maiko."

When Seiji heard those lines out of Hiroto's mouth, he already knew that it was coming from Hiroto himself. Seiji knew that it wasn't Hiroto's character, Mamoru, that was saying it to Maiko. It was Hiroto saying it to Kirari. Seiji felt threatened, but he hoped that Kirari wouldn't notice that Hiroto was the one who actually said those words.

"Ever since I told you about how I was leaving for college, I've been in love with you. Since we both had our own secret, I paid more close attention to you," Mamoru announced.

Hiroto was sincere and Seiji knew that and so did three other people. The director knew that those lines were sincerely coming out of Hiroto's mouth. Fubuki, who calmly kept on watching, felt hurt inside her heart because she knew that no matter how long she and Hiroto stay together, he would never say those words to her. And Kumoi-san carefully watched them for she knew something will happen soon. That something will either make everything get better or get worse.

"I fell in love with your sparkling blue eyes, your silky brown hair, your smooth skin and your beautifully carved lips. I couldn't sleep because you were all I was thinking about," Mamoru continued.

"But it was too late when I realized my feelings for you. I was already in Germany when I realized that you were the reason for my sleepless nights. You were the reason why my heart would skip beats."

Hiroto still wasn't in character, but he was still able to say his lines with full sincerity. His not being in character wasn't noticeable for the staff, but Seiji, Kumoi-san, the director and Fubuki already knew.

"I'm in love with you!" Hiroto exclaimed, surprising Kirari and everyone that was there to watch the scene.

Kirari's eyes widened in surprise when she saw Hiroto's passion in his eyes and finally realized that he was no longer in character. She saw through his sincerity and realized that it wasn't Mamoru who told Maiko that he was in love with her. Hiroto was saying it to her.

"Hiroto-kun? Are you telling the truth?" Kirari thought.

Kirari paused as she lowered her head tolook at the ground. She forgot her lines and character for all that was in her mind was her past with Hiroto. She remembered how she fell in love with him, but when he returned, all he had done was play with her feelings. Kirari loved Seiji because he was there for her through everything, but she was still confused between him and Hiroto. Without realizing that she was crying, she tightly shut her eyes, her head still lowered and her eyes hidden beneath her bangs.

"How do you think I feel?" Kirari quietly said.

Hiroto couldn't hear what she was saying, but he was starting to get worried because he knew they weren't her lines. He didn't know how and why Kirari would forget about her lines.

The staff started panicking, too, because they know that the line that Kirari said after the dramatic pause wasn't part of the script. They didn't say anything and kept on watching to see if she would still be able to get the scene right to how it was supposed to end.

"How do you think I feel?" Kirari yelled this time.

When she lifted up her head, her tears were visibly sparkling as they splashed like water jewels. Everyone was shocked because they knew she wasn't supposed to cry. Maiko was a strong girl who would choose to keep her tears inside just to keep her friends from hurting. The director still looked interested in what Kirari was doing, but he knew that Kirari and Hiroto were now in a different world.

"How do you think I feel, Mamoru?" Kirari clenched her fist as fear and misery invaded her heart.

"After you left, I felt like I was all alone…I didn't want to continue in life…All I had in my mind was you!" she yelled out.

Hiroto was shocked once again, seeing Kirari's feelings overflow. Seiji clenched his fist when he realized that Kirari still had feelings for Hiroto. Fubuki already walked out in frustration after Hiroto's last line, but Seiji stayed and kept on watching even if it was hurting him.

"While you were gone…I accepted the fact that…we weren't meant to be…Do you know how much that hurt?"

"Kirari," Hiroto thought.

"It hurts so much, Mamoru…I was hurting the whole time you were gone! I didn't know what to do anymore…Sometimes…I'd wish you never told me that you were leaving…because after that, I treasured you more than anybody else...I didn't want you to leave more than anybody else!"

Kirari's tears kept on flowing, affecting everyone. The staff no longer cared if all the things she was saying was part of the script or not because they were able to feel how much it hurts just by watching her.

"Until now, it still hurts, Mamoru…I don't know if my heart will ever be fixed, but I know we can't be together…Even if it hurts to let go…I'm going to do it, but I want you to remember this," Kirari paused.

"I loved you with all my heart."

Hiroto couldn't bear to see Kirari cry and started slowly walking towards her.

"Kirari...you've felt that way…for a long time?" Hiroto thought, extending his arms to hug her.

Before Hiroto could reach her, Kirari could no longer hold in her emotions and decided to end the scene.

"Goodbye."

After saying that last word, Kirari walked out of the balcony while her gorgeous, sparkling tears flew with the wind. Hiroto's eyes grew in surprise, feeling more hurt than all the other times he saw Kirari with Seiji. He was aware of his heartbreak and he was now aware that he fell in love with Kirari before he lost his memories, but now, he lost her.

"Cut," the director said.

Everyone clapped for happiness not just because filming was over, but because of Kirari and Hiroto's amazing, heartfelt acting. The director wasn't happy that Kirari changed his lines, but they were perfect for the scene and just left it.

"Tsukish—huh? Where'd she go?" the director asked.

Hiroto, who was still shocked, fell on his knees and looked at the ground with regret and hurt. He had lost her. Kirari was gone from him. She was gone for good.

* * *

Kirari sat under a gazebo as it rained outside. The night has come and she had been gone from the set for two hours. Kirari didn't know where she was going after she ran out, but she found the white gazebo and stayed there, crying. She knew people were worriedly looking for her, but she needed time to think.

"They were the feelings…I've always wanted to say," Kirari said to herself as she laid her head on her tucked knees.

The rain pattered on the gazebo's roof, muffling Kirari's cries and sobs from the people that were looking for her. However, there was only one person that found her.

It was Seiji.

"Kirari," he called out, walking into the gazebo.

When Kirari looked up, she saw his soaking blonde hair and dripping clothes. He was outside the whole time, searching for her. Kirari got up and jumped on Seiji, hugging him tightly. Her cries got louder because she didn't feel alone anymore.

"Please...don't let go," Kirari requested, sobbing.

"I definitely won't," Seiji replied.

Seiji hugged her back tightly, not caring if they were both wet from the rain. Nothing mattered to Seiji whenever he was with her. He hugged her so tight like there was no tomorrow.

"This is our last hug after all," Seiji thought, sorrow in his mind.


	25. Chapter 25: Ice Cream

**Forgotten Melody**

Chapter 25: Ice Cream

"I've worked hard all my life," Fubuki thought as she walked down the halls of the hotel.

After realizing that Hiroto was no longer in character during the filming of the most important scene of the movie, Fubuki started losing her self-control. She tried to endure it until the end, but when she heard Hiroto say that he was in love with Kirari, she couldn't take it any longer and left the hall. She walked back to the hotel, frustrated and in pain.

"I've worked hard all my life and yet, I get nothing back."

Being the daughter of a leading finance group in Japan, Fubuki was the heir to the Todou Financial Corporation. That was the reason why the director of the film that she was in chose her to play Shizuka because her life was almost based on Fubuki.

Fubuki, just like Shizuka, was also bullied when she was in school when she was little. She would always get made fun of because she was quiet and lady-like while everybody else was cheerful and preppy. Fubuki didn't get any chance to eat food with her classmates because they would bring homemade lunch while hers was an expensive one made by a professional chef.

"That's right. I was just like Shizuka," Fubuki thought, still walking down the halls.

"Everybody treated me differently," she thought to herself, turning on the lamp on her nightstand when she arrived in her hotel room.

"Except for him," Fubuki quietly said to herself as she sat on her bed and tucked her legs in while she looked at a picture she took from under her pillow.

It was a picture of her when she was little and a boy that had dark, charcoal hair and kind, gentle eyes. They were both holding an empty ice cream cone with a bite.

"I remember how we met," Fubuki smiled, still looking at the boy's image.

* * *

"Fubuki-chan, want to play with us at the park?" a girl asked, approaching the little Fubuki.

It was the spring of Fubuki's second grade in elementary school. She still didn't make any friends even if she had transferred to the school a month ago. It was the first time that someone came up to her and asked her to play with them which made her ecstatic.

"Sure!" Fubuki cheerfully replied, her eyes sparkling in excitement.

"What are we going to play?" Fubuki asked, still excited.

"Hide-n-seek."

Fubuki volunteered to be the person that will look for the people hiding. They instructed her to count up to thirty then start looking for them. She hurriedly ran to a tree and put her head on her hands while her hands were on the tree. She closed her eyes shut and counted to thirty with her tiny, yet loud voice.

"I'm ready! Here I come!" Fubuki cheerfully yelled as she opened her eyes to an empty playground.

She thought it was normal that nobody was there because of course, everyone was hiding. Fubuki was so happy to finally be able to make friends that she didn't mind how tiring it was to look for them. She looked behind the bushed, trees and posts. She looked under the slide, inside the little playhouse and behind the benches.

Fubuki had been searching for almost an hour already and still found nobody, but she didn't give up.

"They tricked you, you know?"

Fubuki turned to the playhouse's tunnel. She walked over to the playhouse to see who it was. It was a boy with dark, charcoal hair and kind, gentle eyes. The boy jumped down from the playhouse, startling Fubuki.

"They tricked you. Did you know that?" he asked.

"Tricked…me?" Fubuki, still confused, asked back.

"I heard them talk about it before they asked you to play with them. They said 'Hey, we should invite that snobby Fubuki girl to play hide-n-seek. She'll be the one looking for us and then we'll pretend to hide, but instead, we'll run away'."

"They…ran away?"

The boy nodded.

"How about you…why didn't you run away?" Fubuki asked, her tears coming out.

"Are you stupid? I'm in your class and I thought you're pretty cool. And besides, I only pick on guys."

To Fubuki's surprise, she wasn't crying because of sadness anymore, but instead, she was crying because somebody thought she was cool.

"Hey, d-did I make you c-cry? Oh, I-I-I'm s-s-sorry!" the boy panicked.

Suddenly, the ice cream truck started passing by the street. The boy left Fubuki and ran to the ice cream truk while she wiped her tears away. Fubuki watched him leave in surprise, not knowing what he was doing. When he saw him coming back, she started walking slowly to his direction so he wouldn't have to run any further.

"Here you go!" the boy exclaimed with a big smile on his face, handing her the ice cream.

Fubuki took the ice cream carefully, looking at it with wide, surprised eyes.

"You like chocolate flavor, right?" the boy asked.

"How did you know?" Fubuki asked after nodding to answer his question.

"I saw you eat chocolate cake for lunch one time and you looked so happy when you took the first bite," the boy smiled.

Fubuki blushed in embarrassment and thanked them. They sat on the swings while they talked more about each other. They had fun learning about the things they have in common and the hobbies they love.

After an hour, a shiny black car stopped in front of the park and a man dressed in a black suit and black sunglasses came out and opened the door for the person sitting in the back of the car. A lady came out of the truck that looked just like Fubuki, but had a shorter hair that extended to her shoulder.

"Fubuki, what are you still doing here?" the lady asked.

"Mother, I was playing with my friend," Fubuki replied as she ran to the lady that was revealed to be her mother.

"Your father and I were worried about you. Come, we need to hurry. We're going to a formal dinner with other families," Fubuki's mother said as she took the little girl's hand.

"Wait, mother. Can you please take a picture of me and my friend?" Fubuki asked with hopeful eyes.

"Alright. Come and sit on the swings."

Fubuki and the boy sat on the swings, still holding onto their cones. They smiled at the camera as Fubuki's mother counted from one to three. The flash wasn't as bright as they thought it would be, so they didn't worry about whether they blinked or not.

"Bye bye," Fubuki said with a smile on her face as she waved goodbye to her friend.

The boy waved back while Fubuki entered the car. Her mother helped her put on her seatbelt as the driver started the car.

"Oh wait!" Fubuki exclaimed.

She turned the windows down and poked her head out the window as the car slowly started moving.

"Hey! What's your name?" Fubuki yelled from the top of her lungs.

"Hiroto! Hiroto Kazama!" the boy shouted back with a big smile on his face as he waved goodbye.

"Bye bye, Hiroto-kun!"

Fubuki sat back and rolled the windows up, her face red and her smile so beautiful and sparkling.

"Hiroto-kun."

* * *

A tear rolled down her cheeks as Fubuki remembered how the very next day, after becoming friends with Hiroto, she was home-schooled because her father's illness was getting worse. Since that day, Fubuki never saw Hiroto again until one day, after six years since they first met, she saw a television ad that showed Hiroto's face along with Seiji's as they advertised SHIPS' debut.

Fubuki quickly decided to become an idol to be by Hiroto's side, but ended up on his rival company. She quickly debuted and became a professional in such a short time because of the thought that she needed to be good enough to see Hiroto again.

When she finally decided to see Hiroto again, Fubuki felt pain when she realized that she had already been replaced by another girl. A girl who didn't have to work hard just to grab his attention. A girl that was far more cheerful and interesting than her. A girl that she swore to beat in everything to get Hiroto back one day.

This girl was Kirari.

"I work hard on everything, but she doesn't and yet, she still gets everything that she wants," Fubuki thought as she placed her head on her knees to hide her tears while she clenched her fist.

"Why can't I be like you, Kirari?"


	26. Chapter 26: End

**Forgotten Melody**

Chapter 26: End

"Kirari-chan," Seiji said as he laid his head on her shoulders.

"-chan?" Kirari thought, realizing that Seiji said her name the way he used to say it before they became a couple.

"You still have feelings for Hiroto, don't you?" Seiji asked, his fist clenched in jealousy.

Kirari was shocked to hear what Seiji asked. She wanted to let go of him to see his face and try not to say anything that would hurt him, but he didn't want to let go.

"Seiji-kun, I—" Kirari said, pushing herself off of Seiji.

"Answer me," Seiji interrupted as he pulled her closer to his chest and hugged her a little tighter.

They didn't care if they were soaking or cold because they could feel each other's warmth, but Kirari was starting to get terrified. The pattering rain on the gazebo's roof matched Kirari's heartbeat. Seiji was a person that Kirari could never hurt even if it means that she'll be the one to get hurt just to keep him happy.

"What are you—"

"Please give me an honest answer, Kirari-chan!" Seiji yelled, his patience gone.

Kirari's eyes widened as Seiji hugged her tighter than any other hugs he had given her. More tears overflowed out of her eyes because she knows that she and Seiji are hurting.

"Kirari-chan, please…Just answer me," Seiji softly said as tears from his eyes fell on the gazebo's marble floor.

Seiji already knew what the answer was going to be, but he wanted to hear it from Kirari herself so that he could at least end his own doubts. He tightly shut his eyes, hoping that what was happening to them was a dream. He was hoping that Kirari would tell him that he was the only one in her heart, but he already knew that was impossible. No matter how much it hurt him, he wanted the truth.

After a moment of silence, Seiji realized that Kirari was silently crying on his shoulders, her eyes closed to try to conceal the pain, because she didn't want to answer his question and hurt him. Seiji smiled, thinking of how considerate Kirari was. That was one of the reasons why Seiji fell in love with her. She cared about the others more than she cared for herself. She would silently cry and hide her feelings so that no one would worry or get hurt. However, Seiji knew that it was Kirari's turn to feel what a happy ending is. He finally found a way to stop her crying even if he knew he'll be the one in great pain later on.

"Kirari-chan," Seiji called out again, still holding Kirari in his arms.

Kirari slowly opened her eyes, the tears still coming out.

"It's over."

Seiji slowly let go of Kirari, whose eyes were widened and body frozen in shock and ache. Kirari just stood under the gazebo's roof while Seiji turned away from her.

"Goodbye, Kirari-chan."

Kirari's hands started trembling as Seiji left her in the gazebo all alone. He walked under the rain, not turning back to look at Kirari. His tears blended with the pouring rain. Kirari turned her body to the direction where Seiji went. She lifted up her trembling hands as if she could grab Seiji and took a small step, but the heartbreaking pain was too much for her to bear, causing her to fall on her knees as she watched Seiji's silhouette disappear under the rain.

Kirari covered her face with her shaking hands as she cried louder and harder. Seiji heard her cries and felt guilty for what he did, but he was aware that because of Kirari's lovely trait of being considerate of others, she wasn't able to tell Seiji the truth that she still has feelings for Hiroto because she was scared to hurt him. To make it less painful for her, he ended their relationship so that she could go back to Hiroto.

"Seiji-kun! Seiji-kun! Seiji-kun!" Kirari cried, her hands still covering her face.

"I'm all alone again," Kirari thought.

"I thought…I was never going…to be…alone again."

She kept on crying like a lost child looking for her mother. Kirari was in so much pain that she couldn't imagine what she would do next. She drove Hiroto away with her painful words and now, Seiji has left her.

"Everyone's gone."

* * *

"Kumoi-san," the director called after the filming of the movie.

"Sir?" Kumoi-san respectfully answered back.

"I don't know what's going on, but something wasn't right."

"What do you mean?"

"With Tsukishima-san and Kazama-san."

Kumoi-san already knew what he was going to say, but waited anyways to be polite.

"They both didn't follow the script, but it fitted perfectly into the movie, so I'm going to keep it that way, but," the director paused.

"I've never seen something so realistic. I knew their feelings were genuine and the words they were saying to each other were true, but what I don't understand is…why are they not together?" the director asked, hoping to get an answer.

Kumoi-san took a deep breath and looked at the dripping rain outside the window.

"You see, they're like the characters in your movie," Kumoi-san said.

"They fell in love with the wrong person."

* * *

Kirari continued to cry under the gazebo, not realizing that it's already night time. She couldn't stop crying and the rain that's been pouring ever since she left still stayed the same as if the night was crying with her. It was as if the rain was trying to drown Kirari's pain away, but it was so much that no matter how long they keep pouring or how long the sun hides, it wouldn't change anything.

"Naa-san, Okaa-san, Otou-san, Subaru-nii-san, Obaa-san…take me with you. Please," Kirari said, looking up at the starless night sky.

Kirari knew it was wrong to ask for something like that, but she felt like she was losing herself. Kirari didn't know why she deserved all the hurtful things that have happened to her, but she wanted for it all to end. She's been in pain for too long and all she could do now was cry on her knees and cover her face.

Without Kirari's knowing, as she cried and cried, blood was coming out of her mouth. She couldn't feel the sharp pains she would feel before she starts coughing blood because her heart was aching the most. It was already broken and was starting to get fixed, but is now trampled on and unfixable.

"Seiji-kun," Kirari muttered before she lost her consciousness.

She fell to the ground, her eyes closed in pain, the tears still coming out.

"You said you'd never leave me."


	27. Chapter 27: Suffering

**Forgotten Melody**

Chapter 27: Suffering

The morning came and the sun was shining brightly. The birds sang their lovely songs and the flowers bloomed after the heavy rain. Everything looked lovely as the sun shone on them as if nothing happened yesterday.

Kumoi-san, who took her eyeglasses off, took a walk to enjoy the scenery. Since she worked a lot by Chairman Muranishi's side, she never really had the time to enjoy the beauty of nature. She took deep, slow breaths to inhale the fresh air around her.

Suddenly, Kumoi-san stopped when she saw something under a white marble gazebo. She squinted her eyes to make sure that the person she was thinking of wasn't the one lying under the gazebo, unconscious. Unfortunately, it was.

"Kirari!" Kumoi-san exclaimed and quickly ran to her.

"Kirari! Kirari! Can you hear me?" Kumoi-san panicked, patting Kirari's face.

There was blood on her mouth, cheeks, and palms and her body was as cold as ice. It was as if she's dead. It was the very first time Kumoi-san ever lost control of her cool. She would always be calm and strict, but when she saw the blood, she couldn't stop worrying. Before she could call the ambulance, Kumoi-san remembered something.

* * *

"How do you know about this?" Saitou-sensei asked the mysterious woman.

"I'm her manager. I know much more things than you think," the woman said as she put on her glasses, revealing her normal face.

It was Kumoi-san.

Kumoi-san visited the hospital before Kirari, Seiji, Fubuki, and Hiroto left the city to go to the other side of the country to film the movie they were in. Saitou-sensei, the doctor that took care of Kirari when she got in an accident, told Kumoi-san everything that was going on with her health.

"Her health is worsening," Kirari's doctor said as she talked to the mysterious woman who turned out to be Kumoi-san.

"I see," Kumoi-san said, removing her eyeglasses to once again conceal her identity.

Usually, people would put eyeglasses on to conceal their identities, but since Kumoi-san was always seen with her eyes hidden under her eyeglasses, people couldn't really tell how she looked like without her eyeglasses. Kumoi-san looked young and beautiful without her them. After all, she was the famous idol, Kasumi Hoshino.

"Please keep a close eye on her. Won't she be gone for three months for filming?" Saitou-sensei asked.

The woman nodded in reply and walked away, not looking back to ask any more questions.

"Why didn't you tell anyone, Kirari?"

* * *

Kumoi-san already knew the reason why Kirari hadn't told anyone about her health. Kumoi-san didn't want to be the one to tell anybody about Kirari's condition because it was Kirari's job to do that. Even if it would hurt her, it was still Kirari's fault in the first place because she should've told someone about her health.

"Be brave and tell them soon, Kirari," Kumoi-san quietly said as she held Kirari in her arms.

* * *

Kirari slowly opened her eyes to see a white ceiling and bright lights. She felt weak and her heart was still aching, but her chest was also hurting. She didn't turn her head, but she rolled her eyes to the left and found an IV stuck in her arm. She was also attached into other wires that connected to a beeping machine beside her.

"Hos…pital?" Kirari thought, only remembering what happened before she passed out.

Kirari felt weak and went back to sleep, still thinking of Seiji and Hiroto.

"I'm still…alone," she thought as her eyes closed.

* * *

Since filming was over, everyone left the country and returned back to the city so that they could finalize everything and have the movie shown in theaters nationwide. The movie is the most awaited event of the year because it consisted of the two biggest couples of the show business world: Kirari and Seiji and Hiroto and Fubuki.

"Where's Kirari-chan?" one of the extras asked Seiji who was sitting all alone by the plane's window.

"I don't know," Seiji answered, looking out the clouds as the plane flew.

When Hiroto heard what Seiji answered the girl, he was angered because Seiji, who treasured Kirari so much and wanted her all to himself, didn't know where she was. He quickly got up and grabbed his collar and lifted him up from his seat.

"What do you mean you don't know where she is?" Hiroto roared, his eyes showing his boiling rage.

Seiji didn't look at Hiroto in the eyes, but looked away, instead. His blue eyes were full of guilt, sadness, and regret. Fubuki came over to calm Hiroto down. She put her hand on his arm, hoping it would return his calm side back.

"Hiroto, calm down," Fubuki requested.

"Shut up!" Hiroto roared.

Fubuki's eyes widened in shock, her feelings hurt from Hiroto's words. She let go of him and stepped back, her eyes still fixed on Hiroto, who was still looking at Seiji with anger.

"Kazama-san, Kumoi-san took Tsukishima-san home with her on a different plane days before. She's probably in the city right now, don't worry. Calm down," the director, who heard what was going on, pulled Hiroto's hands away from Seiji and calmed him down.

Seiji sat back down, his eyes still looking out in the distance. He was ashamed of what he had done, and wanted to correct his actions, but he knew it was too late. And besides, it was his decision because he didn't want Kirari to keep on hurting.

When Hiroto sat back down on his seat beside Fubuki, he didn't bother to look and apologize to her. His fists were still clenched in anger because he was really worried of Kirari. His memories of her still weren't complete, but he had already seen memories that made him realize that he had always been in love with Kirari.

He remembered the last time she saw Kirari. It was when his and her feelings finally overflowed out of their hearts and were able to come out. However, Hiroto was still feeling pain because of the things Kirari said.

"I lost her, huh," Hiroto thought.

* * *

After two days, Kirari opened her eyes again, regaining a little more strength. She was still feeling weak, but she was now able to talk because of the strength she regained after sleeping for two days.

"Kirari," somebody said.

When Kirari turned her eyes to the door, she saw Kumoi-san who gently closed the door. She was carrying a plastic bag that contained foor for Kirari.

"Kumoi…san?" Kirari asked, her vision still a little blurry.

"How are you feeling?"

"Hurt…broken…tired…weak."

Kumoi-san watched and listened to Kirari, now a lifeless, doll-looking girl, describe how she was feeling. Kumoi-san felt hurt because she was unable to do anything to ease her pain.

"Here, Kirari. Eat. It'll help you feel better," Kumoi-san said, taking out the food she bought out of the plastic.

"Please keep this…from everyone…Kumoi-san," Kirari requested, stopping Kumoi-san from what she was doing.

"I don't want…to let them know…about my health's…worsening," Kirari continued, taking breaths in between her a word or two.

Kumoi-san's hand trembled while tears fell onto the table. Kumoi-san's eyes were wide in sadness and shock, sparkling tears flowing out like waterfalls. Being unable to control herself, Kumoi-san dropped the food on the table and ran to Kirari's side to hug her and bury her face on Kirari's shoulders to hide her tears.

"Why? Why do you have to be the one suffering…Kirari?"


	28. Chapter 28: Confrontations

**Forgotten Melody**

Chapter 28: Confrontations

It had already been a week after filming finished and everyone was back to the city. They had more work to do this time for the main casts were getting interviewed and asked for guest appearances for morning and afternoon talk shows. They had their pictures taken for magazines and newspapers to advertise the upcoming movie.

Everyone in the country was anticipating it. Since the movie was being directed by one of the greatest directors in the country and the main cast consisted of Japan's top idols, rumors had already been spread about how it will also be shown in international countries such as South Korea, China, Taiwan and even America.

The people were happy to see the main cast back on television after filming, but what they were curious about was Kirari.

Kirari hasn't shown up in any ads on television, newspaper or even the magazines. People were starting to wonder if something happened during filming. Some were even spreading the rumor that she had gone back to America, but to clear up the misunderstandings, Kumoi-san released a statement to the press that Kirari is on hiatus because she's preparing for a new album release.

It was a believable lie especially because Kirari is a top idol and she's busy all the time. Even the Chairman believed it. People understood that Kirari can't always show up on television, so they let it go and just waited for the movie to come out.

After talking to the press, Kumoi-san immediately changed her clothes and put her contact lenses on, taking her eyeglasses of. She now looked like a different person. Kumoi-san needed this disguise because she can't have anybody find out about Kirari's current situation. She had already asked Saitou-sensei to keep everything confidential. Nobody knows about Kirari's health problem besides Saitou-sensei and Kumoi-san.

"Kirari," Kumoi-san muttered, seeing the still sleeping Kirari.

Kirari stayed asleep for most of the time. Sometimes, she'd stay asleep for hours, but sometimes, she'd be asleep for three straight days. Kirari's health plummeted really badly after the day of filming. Kumoi-san didn't know how Seiji was unaware of where Kirari was. She knew he followed Kirari when she ran away after filming, but Kumoi-san didn't know how things went between the two or if he actually caught up.

* * *

"Seiji," Kumoi-san called as she opened the door of the lounge.

Seiji, who was looking out the window, turned around to show his face that showed no feelings, yet his eyes showing pain.

"What happened to you and Kirari?" Kumoi-san straightforwardly asked as she closed the door behind her.

She walked towards him as fast as she could, having no patience to find out about the truth. When she was finally beside Seiji, all he did was turn away and look back out the window.

"Answer me!" yelled Kumoi-san, her fists clenched.

The room was quiet and the silence lingered around for a moment as Seiji gathered his courage to be able to tell Kumoi-san the painful truth. Kumoi-san didn't say anything more, trying to keep herself calm. Out of nowhere, Seiji turned to Kumoi-san with a fake smile on his face and eyes that contained tears that want to come out.

"I broke up with her."

Kumoi-san's eyes widened in surprise because she knew Seiji would never do something like that, but she was aware that it was the truth, being Kirari's condition a proof. In anger and frustration, Kumoi-san swung her arm and slapped Seiji's face, the sound echoing throughout the empty room.

"How dare you?" Kumoi-san roared.

"You already knew that she was going through so many pains and yet, you chose to break her heart? What is wrong with you? I thought you loved her!" she kept on yelling, Seiji's head looking down in shame.

"She was getting better with your help! She was getting fixed, but you had to be stupid and break her heart!"

Seiji was ready to take on all the hatred from everyone around him if he wanted Kirari to be happy. He already saw everything coming, but still chose to make Kirari happy than himself.

"She's broken!"

After what Kumoi-san just yelled, Hiroto, who was eavesdropping behind the shut doors, was shocked to hear that Seiji broke Kirari's heart. Hiroto was aware of how much Seiji treasured Kirari, but he didn't know why he would do such thing. He decided to listen to more of their conversation, but suddenly, memories started flashing in his mind again. He saw him and Kirari dancing under the moonlight, the kiss he and Kirari shared for a movie that soon helped him realize his feelings for her, the lunch breaks she shared with her and all the memories of her.

Hiroto was now sure that he was really in love with Kirari. He was now sure that Fubuki, wasn't his girlfriend this whole time. He was now sure that the memories Fubuki engraved in his mind were all a lie.

Determined to get everything back to how they were in the past, Hiroto hurriedly drove to Fubuki's house to find her and confront her. When he got there, the security let him in as if he was part of the Todou family. He looked for her in the kitchen, the dining room and the garden, but found no one. He decided to run up to her room where she should be if she wasn't anywhere in the house.

And he was right. Fubuki was on her bed, wearing nothing but the polo shirt that Hiroto lent her and her underwear, looking at a picture. Hiroto was able to see how mature-looking Fubuki was, but unlike other boys, he wasn't distracted.

"Hiroto?" Fubuki looked up as she heard footsteps enter her room.

When she saw Hiroto, she quickly jumped on him from her bed, clinging her arms around his neck. He didn't put his arms around her, making her hug feel hollow. Suddenly, Fubuki placed her hands on Hiroto's cheeks and moved her head closer to his, going in for a kiss.

"Tell me the truth," Hiroto muttered, stopping her midway.

Fubuki's hands started trembling, her mind full of fear and nervousness. She already figured out that Hiroto was almost finished remembering everything about his past. She moved away from him and turned around to hide her face.

"Tell me the truth!" Hiroto roared, putting his hands on Fubuki's shoulders to turn her body around.

"Yeah. It was my entire fault," Fubuki quietly said, her head facing down in shame.

"I was the reason why you forgot all about Kirari," Fubuki admitted.

Hiroto's eyes widened in surprise, not knowing that Fubuki would say something like that. He expected to tell her why she didn't tell him the truth, but instead, he got more than what he wanted. He continued to listen after a short silence between them.

"The day before the night you lost your memories, you announced to everyone that you were going to America to pursue your dreams. So, I decided to visit you in your agency to wish you a good luck and a gift before you leave the day after. However, I heard you talking to the Chairman about the true reason on why you were going to America," Fubuki narrated, her head still down as she remembered the past.

* * *

Fubuki walked down the Muranishi Entertainment Company's hallways to give Hiroto a gift before he leaves for America. Hiroto announced the other day about his leaving for America to pursue his dreams. Fubuki, who thought that was great, bought him a gift and decided to give it to him the day before his flight.

When Fubuki passed by a room, she heard Hiroto's voice, knowing that he was inside the room. She turned around and excitedly walked back to the room she passed by and held her hand out to open the door when suddenly, she heard someone else's voice. Not wanting to interrupt, she decided to wait and listen to their conversation.

"Chairman Muranishi, the real reason why I'm going to America is to find Kirari," Hiroto said, determine in his eyes.

When Fubuki heard this, her eyes widened and she dropped the gift that she was going to give Hiroto. The box opened and the item came out, shattering into pieces. It was a porcelain, chocolate ice cream keychain.

"For…Kira…ri?" Fubuki quietly said to herself in shock and anger.

Fubuki went home that day with tears running down her eyes. When her mother saw her crying, she quickly came to her daughter's aid. Fubuki explained to her mother about what happened and how she was hurt of what she found out.

"Everything will come to place, Fubuki. Don't forget that. You'll have him sooner, I promise," her mother comforted with a gentle, yet sinister smile.

That night, the rain started pouring and it was starting to get hard. Hiroto, who took a taxi to go home instead of taking the train, sat in the back patiently. His mind was full of excitement that he'll soon see Kirari when suddenly, he heard loud thuds outside. When he looked at the windshield, he saw a bright light and then, everything went blank.

Hiroto opened his eyes and found himself in a bright, white room. Wires were attached on him and his head was wrapped around with bandages. He could hear a beeping machine and he could feel the needle that was stuck in his arm.

"Who am I? Where am I? What happened to me?" Hiroto asked, looking around.

"You're in the hospital, Hiroto."

When he turned to the direction where he heard the voice, he saw a gorgeous girl with dark blue hair and gentle eyes.

"You were involved in a car accident," the girl said, walking towards him and holding his hand.

"What happened?"

"A truck slammed onto a car, sending it to flip. That car kept on flipping and rolled over two vehicles. One was yours and another one. When your vehicle got hit, it also caused it to flip and caused you some damages."

Hiroto, who still had no idea of what was going on around him, didn't remember a thing.

"Did the others…get hurt?" he asked.

"The car that got slammed by the truck was destroyed badly, but one girl survived, but her father, mother, and younger brother all died because they were severely hit. The other car that got hit from when the flipping car rolled over it was also damaged, but the people inside are doing fine."

"That's good. How do you know all this? Who…are you?" he asked for he still didn't know how and why she knew him.

"I'm your girlfriend, Fubuki."

* * *

"Then, I told you all the things you needed to know like your job, your friends and your family and all the other things that you were supposed to know. Then, I transferred to Muranishi Entertainment Company to stay with you all the time. My mother gave me the idea and she promised me that she was going to do everything in her power just for us to stay together."

"So basically, you told me lies?" Hiroto asked, his fists clenched in anger and disappointment.

When Fubuki finally looked up, her face drenched in tears, he saw Hiroto's angered expression and his clenched fists. Fubuki was now desperate, not knowing what to do anymore.

"Yes, I did and I know it was selfish for me, but—"

"No!"

Fubuki's eyes widened in shock when Hiroto yelled at her. She was scared because she was aware of how close she is to losing Hiroto.

"Hiroto, you have to listen to—"

"Why? Why would you lie to me?" Hiroto roared.

"Why did you have to ruin my memories?"

"Because I was selfish and only wanted you to look at me and nobody else!"

Fubuki finally admitted her feelings to Hiroto, who was surprised to hear her confession.

"I've always been in love with you ever since we met when we were little!"

"Little?" Hiroto thought.

He looked at the picture that was on Fubuki's bed. Then, he walked over to pick it up and see who it was. When he saw his face, he finally remembered why he always felt like he had met Fubuki before.

"You're…that Todou girl that was tricked?"

Fubuki, thinking that she still have Hiroto, nodded her head and smiled as she ran to him and gave him another hug.

"Yes, it's me. The girl that you bought ice cream for."

Hiroto knew he was also at fault, but she shouldn't have done something that ruined not only his life, but also the life of Kirari and Seiji.

Feeling bad for Fubuki, he gave her one last hug before he finally let go.

"I'm sorry Fubuki, but we can't do this."

Fubuki's eyes widened and her tears took a brief stop so that she could carefully pay attention to what was being said to her.

"I'm really sorry, but a man that forgets about the girl that he helped is not the man for you. I'm not the man for you, Fubuki. I'm really sorry."

"A-are you ending th-this relationship?" Fubuki panicked.

"With all those lies, there was never a relationship in the first place."

Hiroto walked out of her room and left Fubuki devastated. She fell to the ground, her tears streaming once again. She yelled and yelled in her room in frustration as she regretted everything she did.

"No, Hiroto. You're the only one for me," Fubuki sobbed, holding onto the picture of her and Hiroto.


	29. Chapter 29: Sacrifice

**Forgotten Melody**

Chapter 29: Sacrifice

"Seiji-kun," Kirari smiled as she saw Seiji's smiling face on the television.

"I'm glad…you're doing great," Kirari said as she slowly blinked away her tears.

Kirari started coughing blood again, worrying Kumoi-san. She had been watching over Kirari for almost a month now. Kirari's health wasn't getting any better even if she had been in the hospital.

"Kirari, I'm going to call Saitou-sensei," Kumoi-san said, grabbing the doorknob to open the door and call for Kirari's doctor.

"No, Kumoi-san," Kirari coughed.

"I'm…alright."

"Kirari, you're—"

"I'm fine."

Kirari smiled at Kumoi-san as if nothing was wrong with her, but her health's worsening and her broken heart made it difficult for her to conceal it. Kumoi-san could tell that Kirari was hurting, but since she was the kind of girl who would rather have someone burden her than her burdening someone else, she would just smile and act like everything was fine.

Kirari slowly closed her eyes, falling asleep once again. For most of the time in the hospital, Kirari was asleep. She would sleep for hours or even for days. Kumoi-san always suffered seeing Kirari that way. Kumoi-san treated Kirari like she was her own daughter or little sister. She cared for her more than she cared for herself. Even if she was hurting, Kumoi-san would never tell Kirari just so that she wouldn't have to worry.

Kumoi-san sighed as she silently closed the cracked door when she realized that Kirari had fallen into a deep sleep again. She sat back down on the couch near Kirari's bed to relax for a bit even if she didn't have any time. Kumoi-san was stressing about everything especially the anticipated movie that Kirari, Seiji, Hiroto, and Fubuki were in, 'Distant Hearts', which was going to show in five days. She had only been able to take naps in between work and watching over Kirari. Her eyes started closing when suddenly, she heard the door open.

"Kumoi-san," someone said.

When Kumoi-san opened her eyes, she saw Saitou-sensei's face and her clipboard. Kumoi-san quickly stood because she knew that Saitou-sensei had to talk to her about something important when she saw her professional face. Saitou-sensei wasn't smiling, but was frowning, instead.

"It's getting worse," Saitou-sensei said.

"I know that. You've been telling me that for almost every time you come here," Kumoi-san said in frustration.

Kumoi-san was tired and stressed and Saitou-sensei's reminding her about Kirari's worsening health made her head hurt more, but Kumoi-san was also aware that it was Saitou-sensei's job to inform her about Kirari's health condition.

"Kumoi-san, you didn't let me finish," Saitou-sensei said.

Silence lingered as Saitou-sensei paused to look at Kirari. Kumoi-san also looked at Kirari, still worrying. Instead of telling Kumoi-san what she wanted to say, Saitou-sensei handed her the clipboard to show her a paper with graphs and lines and words.

Kumoi-san took the clipboard and read it in her mind, her eyes rolling from left to right. Suddenly, Kumoi-san's eyes widened, the clipboard falling from her hands. A thud was heard when the clipboard hit the white floor. Saitou-sensei didn't need to turn her head to look at Kumoi-san because she already knew the expression that she was making. A few seconds after the clipboard fell, Kumoi-san fell to her knees as tears also fell down her eyes.

She slowly looked down on the floor, the teardrops dropping on the clipboard.

"No!" Kumoi-san screamed, covering her face to muffle her voice.

Saitou-sensei crouched down to rub Kumoi-san's back because that was the only thing she could do for her.

"No! No!"

* * *

"Where's Kirari?" Hiroto asked Seiji, his fists clenched as he contained his anger for Seiji inside.

"Why would I know?" Seiji calmly answered, still reading his magazine.

"Stop messing around and tell me where the hell she is!" Hiroto growled in annoyance as he slapped the magazine out of Seiji's hand.

Seiji stood up to leave the room calmly so he wouldn't have to fight Hiroto. Seiji knows that Kirari wouldn't want to see them fighting. Even if Kirari wouldn't be able to see them, Kirari would still somehow find out.

"Where the hell is Kirari?" Hiroto growled once again, grabbing Seiji by the shirt.

"How should I know?" Seiji yelled back, anger and misery in his eyes.

Hiroto's eyes widened in shock, not expecting Seiji to look angered and in pain at the same time.

"How should I know, Hiroto? Aren't you the one who's supposed to know where she is?" Seiji yelled, pushing Hiroto's hands off of him.

Hiroto couldn't say anything to Seiji because he was confused.

"What…what do you mean?" Hiroto asked, not scared to admit that he had no idea what was going on.

Seiji turned his face away from Hiroto, ashamed that tears started forming in his eyes. Seiji was a man, and a man is supposed to show no tears to another man, but he couldn't hide the tears of pain that he was feeling.

"I broke her heart so she could be with you," Seiji confessed, clenching his fist.

Hiroto was surprised of what he said, not knowing what to say. Hiroto had always been aware that Seiji loved Kirari more than anyone in the world, but he broke up with her just so that she could be with Hiroto.

"Why would you do that?" Hiroto asked.

"Because I couldn't watch her cry anymore."

Seiji remembered those times when Kirari would cry on his shoulders because of something Hiroto did. Seiji was fully aware that Kirari was crying because she still had feelings for Hiroto, who had forgotten about her in the beginning.

"She would cry because of her feelings for you…she was hurting because those feelings won't go away," Seiji continued.

"She tried to get rid of them by becoming my girlfriend…Yeah, I know. I was being used…I was being used to forget about you…but I was fine with that."

Hiroto continued listening to Seiji as he also remembered those times when he was with Kirari and knew nothing about her. He didn't feel anything for her, but Kirari silently did.

"I was fine about being used to forget about her feelings for you…about being a substitute…I loved her so much that I didn't care about my feelings…I didn't care if I was hurt…I only cared about her. I sacrificed my own happiness for her. She was my world," Seiji continued, Kirari's smile in his mind.

"But I ruined my world so she could get her own happiness…Kirari might've looked happy when she was with me…but I know that she will receive true happiness once she's with the true person she loves…which is you."

Hiroto was once again surprised as the truth was finally laid out on him. He had always thought that Kirari didn't have the time to have feelings for him. Hiroto thought that Kirari didn't share the same feeling, but when she started showing signs of her feelings for him, he didn't want to believe it.

"If you want to know where she is, find Kumoi-san. She knows where Kirari is," Seiji suggested even if he didn't want to.

"Thank you…and I'm sorry, Seiji," Hiroto said, gently patting Seiji's shoulder.

"Tell her that I said I love her…and that I was thankful that I had her even if it was just for a short time," Seiji asked, showing Hiroto a smile that he used to conceal his hurting.

Hiroto was able to see through Seiji, knowing that Seiji was hurt, but was happy that the person he loves will finally feel happiness. Hiroto nodded to Seiji, also giving him a smile that said "You can count on me".

Hiroto rushed out of the building and drove the car around town to find Kumoi-san. His mind was full of the things Seiji said including Kirari's face.

"I'm going to correct everything…and tell you how I really feel, Kirari," Hiroto determinedly thought.


	30. Chapter 30: Finally

**Forgotten Melody**

Chapter 30: Finally

Kirari quickly sat up on her bed, her eyes widened in shock as she woke up from a dream, gasping. Kumoi-san hurriedly rushed to her side to find out what was wrong.

"Take me out of here," Kirari said, still panting.

"What do you mean?" Kumoi-san asked.

"Get me out of the hospital...quickly."

Kirari's face showed worry and panic as she pulled the wires and cords that were connected to her.

"Kirari! You can't leave!" Kumoi-san yelled, restraining Kirari from standing up.

"I have to lea—"

Kirari started coughing as she shook Kumoi-san's hands off of her while covering her mouth. Kirari, being used to seeing blood every time she coughs ever since her health worsened, wiped the blood on her hospital gown without a care.

"Kirari! Stop!"

"Hiroto-kun's coming!"

Kumoi-san's eyes widened in shock, wondering how Kirari would know what was going on outside when she had always been asleep.

"I saw it…in my dream…it's just a dream…I know…but I can feel it," Kirari said as heavily breathed for air.

"He's coming…and I can't have him see me this way…I can't have him find out…about my health," Kirari continued, looking at Kumoi-san straight in the eyes.

Kumoi-san knew Kirari was serious. Even if she didn't want to take Kirari out of the hospital, she had no choice but to do it. Kumoi-san quickly ran downstairs and asked for Saitou-sensei to file in the papers for Kirari to get discharged.

"We can't do that, Kumoi-san, and you know that!" scolded Saitou-sensei.

"I know, but we have no choice."

"What do you mean 'you have no choice'?"

"Hiroto's coming. Kirari doesn't want him to find out about this."

Saitou-sensei started looking worried like Kumoi-san, too. She knows how passionate Kirari is about not having anyone find out about her health, especially the ones that she loved the most. Desperate, Saitou-sensei filed the papers and discharged Kirari, who had already finished packing her things.

Kirari and Kumoi-san immediately drove out of the hospital to make sure that nobody saw them getting out. Kumoi-san took Kirari to her apartment, ordering her to stay there so she could get Kirari's things from Seiji's house. Kirari, pale and weak, obediently nodded her head as she sat on Kumoi-san's bed.

Kumoi-san hurriedly left her apartment and walked to the parking lot. Unexpectedly, Hiroto was standing beside her car, waiting for her.

"H-Hiroto," Kumoi-san called out as she walked towards him.

"Kumoi-san, where's Kirari?" Hiroto asked, getting straight to the point.

"Uhm, well…she's…I don't know where she is," Kumoi-san lied in nervousness.

"Don't lie, Kumoi-san."

"I-I'm not lying."

"Then, who's that?" Hiroto asked as he pointed at the head that he could see from Kumoi-san's apartment's window.

Kumoi-san turned around, hoping that he was pointing at the wrong window, but unfortunately, he was pointing at Kirari, whose head was visible.

"Oh, I didn't know she was there," Kumoi-san lied once again.

Hiroto started walking away from Kumoi-san, but suddenly, Kumoi-san grabbed his sleeve to prevent him from walking any further. Hiroto turned his head to look at Kumoi-san, who was looking down on the ground, still trying to find the right words she wanted to say to Hiroto.

Kumoi-san tightened her grip on Hiroto's sleeve as she remembered the words that were on the papers that Saitou-sensei showed her earlier that morning about Kirari's health. She started trembling when she finally found the right words to say.

"Take care of her."

Kumoi-san let go of Hiroto as she hurriedly ran to her car to open the door and leave. Hiding the tears, Kumoi-san drove away, leaving Hiroto in confusion and worry.

He swiftly ran to the building and went up to the fifth floor with the elevator. He knocked on the door that had the numbers 504 on it, his courage at its peak. Hiroto had already gathered all his courage to admit his feelings to Kirari to finally correct everything.

"Who is it?" Kirari frailly said as she heard the knocks.

"It's me, Hiroto."

Kirari's eyes widened in surprise, not knowing what to do. Her face looked awful from her health's worsening and she still wasn't feeling well. Kirari applied some quick foundation on her face and lip gloss to conceal her pale lips.

Kirari ran to the door, putting on a smile to conceal her pain. When she opened the door, Hiroto hurriedly embraced Kirari, her mind and body in shock.

"Ka…zama…kun?" Kirari slowly muttered.

"Kirari! Kirari! Kirari! It's me, Hiroto," he cried.

"Hiro…to?"

"I remember now. I remember everything," Hiroto continually said, holding Kirari's face in his hands as he stared at her beautiful blue eyes.

"I remember you. I remember how I became your friend. I remember how I would help you. I remember how much I love you."

Kirari froze, her mind going blank. She couldn't believe it. She couldn't believe that Hiroto's confessing to her. She couldn't believe that Hiroto's back in her heart. Tears started forming, as she smiled in relief and thanksgiving.

"I've waited for so long," Kirari smiled as her tears fell.

"You finally…came back to me."

Hiroto embraced her again, not wanting to let her go. She was in his arms after waiting for so long. They finally heard each other's hearts beating as one.

Hiroto let go of Kirari to look at her once again. Tears were still flowing out of her eyes, her heart overjoyed. He ran his thumb across Kirari's cheeks, wiping her tears.

"I love you, Kirari. I've always loved you," Hiroto said.

Hiroto leaned in after wiping Kirari's tears away from her face. Kirari slowly closed her eyes as he got closer and closer to her face. Finally, after so many years, they're lips touched, sharing a kiss that they've waited for so long. Sparks flew and the atmosphere around them felt lighter and more amazing. The sensation made them so happy as if cupid was dancing in celebration. Another teardrop fell from Kirari's eye as she felt her heart cry for joy.

"I've loved you for so long, Hiroto-kun."

* * *

"Kumoi-san, is Hiroto-kun with her?" Seiji asked as he helped her pack Kirari's things.

Kumoi-san arrived at Seiji's house 30 minutes after she left her apartment to grab Kirari's things out of Seiji's house. She nodded to answer his question, zipping up the suitcases. Kumoi-san was in a hurry as if she needed to be by Kirari's side as soon as possible even if Hiroto was with her.

"Where was she?" Seiji asked after a long pause.

"She was in my apartment," Kumoi-san replied.

"You really are bad at lying, Kumoi-san."

Kumoi-san froze, remembering what Hiroto said earlier when she saw him at the parking lot. Kumoi-san knew that Seiji has to find out now or else it would devastate him later on. Like earlier, Kumoi-san didn't have a choice. Even if she promised Kirari not to tell Seiji, she didn't want Seiji to get hurt any more than he already was. Kumoi-san was ready to face the consequences of breaking her promise with Kirari.

"Kirari was at the hospital," Kumoi-san said, looking up at Seiji.

Seiji didn't ask a question and waited for Kumoi-san to finish what she was going to say.

"She has tuberculosis and it's already on its worst stage," Kumoi-san revealed.

"What do you mean?" Seiji asked in shock.

"She doesn't have much time left."


	31. Chapter 31: Endure

**Forgotten Melody**

Chapter 31: Endure

After sharing a passionate kiss with the person he had been longing to be with, Hiroto wiped Kirari's tears away and held her tight.

"Where do you want to go today? We can go anywhere you want," Hiroto excitedly asked.

"I'll go anywhere as long as I'm with you, Hiroto-kun," Kirari smiled.

Hiroto's face blushed, but he showed a gentle smile that made Kirari blush, too. They both ran to Hiroto's car after Kirari locked Kumoi-san's apartment. Hiroto drove around town with Kirari, still deciding on where to go.

"I know!" Kirari exclaimed as the car stopped on a red light.

"What is it?" Hiroto asked.

"We should go to that ramen shop that we went to when I stayed at your condo!"

"Oba-san's ramen shop?"

Kirari nodded in excitement. She was as happy as a little girl that received an ice cream as a treat for being a good girl. Hiroto was glad that he was seeing a smile on Kirari's face. He was glad that the smile she was showing was all because of him.

The traffic light turned green and Hiroto continued driving. After turning on different roads and corners, he parked the car in front of a café. He put on his dark sunglasses and placed a hat on Kirari's head so that their identities would be kept. They walked down an alley and turned to their left where the little ramen shop was hidden. Even if it was hidden, the shop was still able to get customers because it was a favorite of those people who knew about the shop before it was hidden when the tall café building was built in front of it.

"Good afternoon, Oba-san," Hiroto greeted as he took his sunglasses off.

"Hiro-kun, it's been a long time since you came here!" the short old lady exclaimed after placing the bowl of ramen on the counter to the person that ordered it.

Hiroto crouched down to give the old lady a hug. Even if she was small and frail-looking, she was able to give Hiroto a tight and warm hug. Seeing her bright personality made Kirari smile in happiness.

"Oh, you brought her back, too!"

"It's nice to see you again, Oba-san," Kirari bowed in respect.

The old lady gave Kirari a squeeze, surprising her. Kirari felt as if she was with her late grandmother again especially since she would always receive warm hugs from her grandmother, too. The old lady offered them a table for two near the counter so that she could see them while preparing their food.

After they comfortably sat down, Kirari started coughing, worrying Hiroto. She covered her mouth in case blood comes out again.

"Are you okay, Kirari?"

Kirari nodded with a smile on her face. Hiroto placed his hand on hers, giving it a small squeeze to reassure her. The old lady walked over to their table after finishing her preparations with their food. She came just in time to see their holding each other's hand. The old lady smiled an 'I told you so' smile, her face a little red.

"Here you go," she said as she placed a big bowl of ramen in front of Kirari and Hiroto.

"Oba-san, we ordered two separate bowls," Hiroto corrected.

"A couple can share, right?" the old lady winked, handing them their chopsticks.

Hiroto and Kirari blushed, looking down on their laps to hide their blushing faces.

"Enjoy!"

The old lady walked back to the counter with a big smile on her face.

* * *

"She has tuberculosis and it's already on its worst stage," Kumoi-san revealed.

"What do you mean?" Seiji asked in shock.

"She doesn't have much time left."

Seiji's eyes widened in shock, his heart skipping beats. He couldn't believe what he was hearing. He didn't understand why something like that would happen to Kirari. He didn't get it.

"Kirari developed tuberculosis after moving to America, but she wasn't diagnosed until two years after she got there. She was receiving treatments and medications, but after her family's death two years ago and Naa-san's death a year ago, she stopped her treatment and just let the disease get worse," Kumoi-san recalled after seeing all the paper works that Saitou-sensei showed her.

"She was aware of her worsening, so she came back here," Kumoi-san ended.

"You mean to say…she came back here…to say goodbye?" Seiji asked, shaking in fear and sadness.

Even if she didn't want to, Kumoi-san nodded her head as tears started forming in her eyes under her eyeglasses.

"No! This isn't right! It can't be! You're lying, Kumoi-san! You're lying!" Seiji shouted, afraid of accepting the truth.

"As much as I wanted to be with her…I left Kirari with Hiroto…because I know she needed him most," Kumoi-san calmly replied as her tears finally fell, shimmering on its way down her cheeks.

"This can't be true! Why didn't you tell me?" Seiji roared.

Kumoi-san, not being able to handle what was going on, just kept her mouth shut as she cried in pain.

"Why didn't you tell me? Why?"

"Because Kirari didn't want any of us to know!"

Seiji was dumbfounded, not knowing how to reply. Seiji knew Kirari very well. He knew her well enough that he's aware of Kumoi-san's telling the truth.

"I'm her manager, but she didn't tell me anything. I had to find out myself! Do you think she wanted any of us to know that she's dying? Do you think she wanted us to worry about her?" Kumoi-san cried out loud.

"You know her more than I do, Seiji. You were her lover! Do you think she wanted to let you know something like that? Kirari's the kind of person to hide those things! You know that!" Kumoi-san continued crying, showing Seiji her weak side.

Seiji fell on his knees as he realized that the cold, painful truth was right in front of him. It was the coldest, most agonizing truth he had to endure and accept, feeling as if he wouldn't survive. Kumoi-san and Seiji cried as if there was no tomorrow. They cried and cried, letting go of all the tears they've kept inside. Their sobs were still audible as a moment of silence finally came.

"Will she be able to see the movie?" Seiji asked, his face hidden under his bangs.

"Hopefully," Kumoi-san sobbed.

Seiji clenched his fist as a tear fell to the ground. Kumoi-san walked over to Seiji and sat beside him in front of his house's gate. She placed her arm around his shoulder, comforting with her sisterly strokes.

"I want to see her," Seiji said.

"I do, too…but we might have to wait for a little longer."


	32. Chapter 32: Weakening

**Forgotten Melody**

Chapter 32: Weakening

"I'm glad you've realized your true feelings, Hiro-kun," the old lady said as she waved goodbye to Hiroto and Kirari.

Hiroto opened the car's door for Kirari and also shut it for her. He walked to the other side of the car and got in. Suddenly, Kirari started coughing again, covering her mouth to muffle the noises. She felt something drip on her palms, knowing that it was blood. Kirari quickly wiped it away during the brief moment when Hiroto turned away as he shut the door.

"Are you okay?"

Kirari nodded once again, a deceitful smile on her face. Hiroto drove away after seeing Kirari's brightening smile. Still not knowing where to go next, Hiroto kept on driving around town. When they stopped on a red light, Kirari looked out the window to see a poster of the movie that she, Hiroto, Seiji, and Fubuki was in that will be showing in three days.

"Do you…maybe…you know…uhm…want to see that with me?" Hiroto shyly asked, his face turning red as he looked down the steering wheel.

Kirari, who was looking at the poster, looked worried and shocked at the same time, still thinking about how to answer.

"Of course," Kirari smiled as she placed a hand on Hiroto's, her smile's fakeness unnoticeable.

Hiroto blushed more, but he showed a gentler smile in relief and excitement. On the other side, Kirari was worried even though her face showed great enthusiasm. After a few moments of silence, Kirari started coughing again, but this time, she kept her hand on her mouth because there was more blood.

"Let's take you home, Kirari," Hiroto said.

Kirari nodded even if she didn't really know what 'home' Hiroto was talking about. Half an hour later, without her knowing, Kirari was being carried by Hiroto, her hand still on her mouth. Hiroto carried her on his arms like a prince rescuing a princess. She realized that she fell asleep because of fatigue.

"Hiro…kun," Kirari muttered.

"Shh…it's okay," Hiroto gently smiled.

After Hiroto opened the door, Kirari saw a familiar blue curtain and a flat screen TV. She also remembered the couch that she saw not too long ago.

"Your…house?" Kirari asked, her hand still on her mouth.

Hiroto nodded as he placed her on the couch. He told her that she can use the bathroom if she wanted to. She quickly stood up and ran to the bathroom to wash her hand and her mouth. Before she left the bathroom, she started coughing again, more blood coming out. The sink was full of blood and splatters were on the floor. Hiroto was starting to get worried, but he prepared the bed for Kirari.

After cleaning up her mess, she walked outside, looking paler than ever. Kirari took small slow steps, using the wall as a guide. Kirari felt weak after coughing blood for a lot of times. Before she reached the bed, Kirari almost fell, but was caught by Hiroto. He lifted her up again, carrying her to his bed. He tucked her in as the sun set, bathing the room in darkness.

"Rest well, Kirari," Hiroto said, giving her a kiss on the forehead.

Kirari fell asleep after Hiroto gave her a small peck on the forehead. Hiroto, who sat next to Kirari's bed, fell asleep moments after watching her sleeping face. The moonlight shone on the two as if they were on a stage with the spotlight shining on them.

Kirari woke up in the middle of night where she found Hiroto's hand on hers. Without waking him up, Kirari carefully removed his hand from hers and walked around, searching for something. She looked for it as quiet as she could, not even making the smallest noise.

"There it is," Kirari thought, seeing a notebook and a pen on the coffee table.

She sat on her knees so that she could write on the coffee table. Before she started writing, she looked at Hiroto, who was peacefully asleep. Kirari's pale lips curved into a gentle smile, her eyes showing agony and sadness. She started writing, filling the room with the sound of the pen gliding over the smooth, lined paper. Some tears fell on the paper and on the coffee table, smudging some of the ink.

An hour passed and Kirari was finally finished writing. She signed it on the bottom, hinting that it was a letter that she wrote. She folded the papers and sealed it with her kiss after she hid them inside the bag that she brought. Kirari wiped her tears away and went back to bed after stroking Hiroto's soft, charcoal-colored hair.

"I love you, Hiroto-kun," she smiled as a shimmering tear left her eye.

She laid her head on the pillow and fell back asleep with a contented smile on her face.

* * *

"Do you think she'll make it?" Seiji asked, his blue eyes showing no life.

Kumoi-san didn't answer, but paused her typing to think of an answer.

"Do you think…Kirari will be able to see the movie?"

"There are two days left before the movie shows," Kumoi-san answered, fixing her eyeglasses.

"Let's hope she sees it."

* * *

"Where are we going, Hiroto-kun?" Kirari asked, looking at the dress that Hiroto bought for her.

She didn't know when and where Hiroto bought it, but she loved its simplicity. It was a white halter sundress with a bow on the side of the waist. Of course, it looked beautiful on Kirari. Hiroto escorted her out of his condo, carefully holding onto her. Kirari tried to suppress her coughs, not letting blood come out. Hiroto, noticing Kirari's weakening and pale face and lips, looked more worried than ever.

"Wow, it's gorgeous out here," Kirari smiled as the sunshine's rays shone on her.

Kirari coughed once more, her fist on her chest as she felt sharp pains.

"I knew it. We should just stay home. You're not feeling well," Hiroto declared.

"No, I'm alright. Let's go to where you're planning on bringing me," Kirari smiled.

Kirari's irresistible smile made Hiroto feel weak, giving him no choice, but to take her to the place that he planned to take her. They walked down the nearest train station, their hands entwined around each other's. Kirari's heart was beating fast, but she it was filled with joy.

Hiroto and Kirari entered the train after paying for their tickets and going through the entrance. As soon as the train arrived, Kirari and Hiroto stepped in, finding the train almost empty. They sat down and waited for the train to leave, Hiroto's arm around Kirari's shoulder.

"Where are we going?" Kirari asked once again.

"It's a surprise. Just rest for now, okay?" Hiroto requested with his charismatic smile.

Not wanting to argue, Kirari rested her head on Hiroto's shoulder, feeling comfortable.

"I hope we can stay like this," she thought as she gradually closed her eyes.

"Forever."


	33. Chapter 33: Letter

**Forgotten Melody**

Chapter 33: Letter

Hiroto slowly opened his eyes as the train slowed down. Kirari, who woke up before he did, was looking out the window with the sun shining on her face.

"Sea?" Hiroto thought.

They arrived at the beach after three hours of riding the train. Kirari was still looking frail and weak, but her smiling face seemed to make it less noticeable.

"Let's go, Hiroto-kun," she said, grabbing Hiroto's hand as the train stopped.

Hiroto and Kirari walked out of the station and went straight to the beach. Kirari's white sundress fluttered in the wind and Hiroto's dark hair swayed with the breeze. They could feel the spring breeze from the waves and smell the fresh air from the endless, blue ocean. Kirari and Hiroto took off their shoes to avoid getting sand in them. Their footprints were left behind as they made more memories together.

"Isn't it great out here?" Kirari smiled, her closed hand on her chest as she felt sharp, discreet pains that Hiroto couldn't feel.

"Yeah," Hiroto agreed, gently smiling as he looked at Kirari's gorgeous face.

Hiroto remembered that day when he first met Kirari. She was chasing Seiji during their concert and got caught up. After being shown on TV, Kirari wanted to join the show business to be with Seiji. She learned that her admiration for him shouldn't be the only thing that's motivating her. Months later, after her debut, she became closer to both Hiroto and Seiji. One day, Hiroto arranged a date for her and Seiji, but unfortunately, it didn't go as planned. Hiroto ended up being alone with Kirari for the whole day in the beach where they were presently in.

Hiroto grinned as he remembered the naïve Kirari from years ago. The only thing Kirari cared about back then was her crepes. Nothing more, nothing less. However, Hiroto didn't care about her naiveté for that's why he fell in love with her in the first place. Kirari's innocence made it irresistible for Hiroto to not fall in love with her.

Returning to reality back from his recollection of the past, Hiroto realized that Kirari was starting to get weaker and weaker as their steps got smaller and slower.

"Kirari, are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine."

"But-"

"Let's keep on walking, okay, Hiroto-kun?"

"Oh…umm…yeah."

Hiroto could see Kirari's pain, but doesn't really know how it feels. He didn't know what was wrong with her and she wasn't planning on telling him. In his mind, Hiroto was thinking that she just has a cold or a low fever, but he didn't know that it was worse than what he was thinking.

"Kirari, we should rest."

"Hiroto-kun," Kirari said, stopping.

Hiroto, who took a step further than Kirari, looked back at her as she looked at the gritty sand on her feet.

"I want to keep going," Kirari declared, looking up to show him her teary eyes.

Kirari didn't want to cry, but the tears came naturally. She was in pain, causing the tiny droplets of water to form in her eyes.

"Okay," Hiroto sighed, not being able to disagree with Kirari.

Kirari smiled, holding onto Hiroto's strong arms for support again. They continued walking down the beach, feeling some of the water that came towards them.

"Kirari," Hiroto thought, looking at Kirari's pale lips and face.

"Will you be alright?"

* * *

"Where's Kirari?" Seiji asked, putting down his cup of tea.

"She's with Hiroto," Kumoi-san said after sipping some tea.

Silence engulfed the room, the only sounds audible being the clock's ticking noises. Out of nowhere, Seiji banged on the table, surprising, but not scaring Kumoi-san.

"Can't we change the date of the movie to today?" Seiji exclaimed in anger.

"Why would we do that?" Kumoi-san calmly asked, watching the ripples on the surface of her tea.

"So Kirari could see the movie she worked hard on!"

Kumoi-san lifted up her cup and sipped some more tea, not saying anything back to Seiji.

"Kumoi-san! Are you listening?" Seiji angrily asked.

"I'm not going to do that," Kumoi-san replied as she slowly placed the cup down.

Seiji was surprised to hear her answer for he knew that Kumoi-san could feel the same feeling that he had.

"I'm not going to do that even if I want to," she continued, a tear rolling down her cheek.

"Because I have faith in Kirari."

Seiji was more shocked, having realized his mistake.

"I have faith that Kirari will make it."

* * *

"Kirari, are you okay?" Hiroto worriedly asked, hearing Kirari's deep breaths.

"I'm…fine…let's…keep on…walking," Kirari said, breathing heavily in between her words.

Kirari was looking worse than ever. Her hands were trembling and her steps became more frail. She heavily coughed into her handkerchief from time to time to hide the blood splotches from Hiroto.

"Kirari," Hiroto said, letting go of her hand.

He took a step ahead from Kirari and squatted down. He stretched his arms to the back and waved his hands around, inviting Kirari.

"Come, I'll give you a piggy back ride," he smiled.

Kirari's heart beat faster from the joy that Hiroto had brought her. Without hesitating, she leaned her chest onto Hiroto's back and wrapped her arms around his neck. Then, he slowly stood up and gently grabbed Kirari's legs and wrapped them around his waist. He kept his hands on Kirari's thighs to keep her from falling.

"Have you eaten lots of crepes lately?" Hiroto asked.

"No, why?" Kirari replied, confused.

"You've gotten heavier!" Hiroto playfully said.

"Jeez, Hiroto-kun!"

"Just kidding! Just kidding!"

The two laughed out loud, their voices echoing out to the great ocean. They were carefree and joyous, their minds only filled with thoughts of happiness from being with each other. They didn't care about what was happening to the rest of the world. Their time together was precious.

"We're here, Hiroto-kun," Kirari said, patting his shoulder to give him the signal that he could put her down.

Hiroto placed her back down as he looked around. He didn't know why Kirari picked this spot in the beach because it looked like the rest of the spots they stopped in, however he did remember something when he saw the gigantic rocks by the shore.

This spot was where Kirari lost her hat from the wind's blowing it away.

"This place is important to me, Hiroto-kun," Kirari said as she placed her gaze to the ocean.

"This is where I realized my feelings for you for the first time, Hiroto-kun," she smiled, her hair swaying with the wind.

Despite her frail face and pale lips, Kirari looked like a goddess that stepped down from the sky. Her white sundress made her glow and her swaying, dark brown hair was enchanting.

Hiroto stared at Kirari, still enchanted with her beauty. Suddenly, Kirari fell to the ground, sending Hiroto to his knees to catch her. With Hiroto's quickness, Kirari's body, except her feet, didn't touch the sand.

"Kirari!" Hiroto exclaimed.

"I'm fine, Hiroto-kun."

"No no no! You're not fine, Kirari!"

"Just take out the white picnic blanket from my bag, Hiroto-kun, please?" Kirari nicely asked.

Hiroto did as he was asked and placed Kirari on the blanket. She laid her sick body down beside Hiroto's, their fingers entwined with each other's. They looked up at the sky and watched the puffy, white clouds go by.

Kirari coughed some more from time to time, worrying Hiroto. He had a feeling that his worrying is at its highest because of something that he couldn't understand and didn't know.

"Kirari, we should go home so-"

"Let's stay here, Hiroto-kun."

Something about Kirari's voice made Hiroto want to cry. He wanted to cry because he could hear her pain. That was the only reason why he did what he was asked. Though he wanted to drive her to the hospital as soon as he can, he couldn't because he was aware of how much pain Kirari was in. Granting her wishes was the only thing Hiroto could do to ease Kirari's pain.

"Hiroto-kun," Kirari said, breaking the silence.

"Hmm?"

"Can we cuddle?"

"Mm."

Kirari smiled and scooted her body closer to Hiroto's. He allowed her to use his arm as a pillow as he wrapped his arms around her. Even though they were face to face, they weren't as shy as before. Their faces were red, yes, but they weren't panicking. Kirari started humming a song as she closed her eyes. The lullaby matched their heartbeats and the crashing waves. Hiroto realized what song Kirari was humming.

Hiroto remembered that day Kirari left. He was in despair because he didn't get to tell her how he felt. He also remembered the unfinished melody he and Kirari worked on. So, he completed the melody when he ran to the beach on the day Kirari left.

"This melody…it'll become a forgotten melody," Hiroto thought as he finished the melody.

Coming back to reality, Hiroto was surprised that Kirari remembered it. She only remembered the part that they created together, so Hiroto continued when Kirari stopped humming.

"I'm glad you finished it, Hiroto-kun," Kirari smiled as he stopped.

"I'm glad you remembered it," he returned the smile.

Silence lingered as they embraced each other under the majestic sky.

"Hiroto-kun," Kirari called out, her eyes closed as she treasured the warmth she was receiving from Hiroto's hug.

"Hm?"

"Tell me you love me."

"I love you, Kirari. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you more than anything in this world. I'll love you 'til the day I die. I'll love you for all eternity. I love you. I love you. I love you," Hiroto declared, not feeling a single bit of shyness.

"Good," Kirari said.

"Because I love you, too."

Hiroto smiled as he watched Kirari slowly close her eyes and fall asleep in his arms. They both fell asleep on the shore, hearing the relaxing waves and feeling each other's warmth as the sun said its goodbye.

* * *

"Kirari," Hiroto said, opening his eyes.

He took out his phone and looked at the time.

8:36 am.

He and Kirari fell asleep on the blanket and stayed outside for the whole night. Hiroto slowly pulled his arm so that Kirari wouldn't hit her head hardly on the ground.

"Kirari, time to wake up," Hiroto called out as he shook Kirari's pale body.

"Kirari?"

Hiroto was getting scared for she wouldn't wake up. She wouldn't move or open her eyes. He shook her body more, hoping that her eyes would open, but only to find an envelope tucked in behind the ribbon wrapped around her waist.

Hiroto took it out and opened it as he saw his name on the envelop. He scanned through the letter, reading it in his mind. Hiroto's voice was reading it in his mind at first, but Kirari's voice slowly joined in and took over. This was inside the letter:

Dear Hiroto-kun,

By the time you're reading this, I'm already in a better place. I'm in my eternal slumber. I hope you do not get mad at me. I'm going to tell you everything in this letter. On the day I told you I was leaving for America, you didn't look happy, so I kept the date of my leaving from Japan because I didn't want to disappoint you any more. I knew you were mad at me for you avoided and ignored me until I left. On the day I left, I was really sad. I was crying so much because I didn't really want to leave, but I wanted to get better. I wanted to get better in singing, acting, dancing, and modeling for you. I wanted to be as good as you, so I left for America to make myself become better. After some years, I returned back to Japan almost nine months ago because I was all alone. My family died in a plane crash and Naa-san died protecting me. However, that wasn't the only reason why I came back. I returned to see you, Seiji-kun, Kumoi-san, and Chairman Muranishi before parting with you. I was diagnosed with tuberculosis two years after I arrived in America. I was undergoing treatment and took medications, but when I lost my family, I lost the will to live and I got worse. Naa-san, however, kept me together even though it took him to lose his life just to get myself back together. After Naa-san's death, I decided to return back to Japan when I learned that I didn't have much time left. To be honest, when I returned, it really broke my heart when I heard about your dating Fubuki and how you didn't remember me. I stayed by you even if it was killing me to see you with another girl. I believed that you will remember me again. And I'm really glad that you did. I was overjoyed when I found out that we shared the same feelings even if it was too late. I want to let you know that I'll always love you, Hiroto-kun. Even if I'm gone, I want you to remember me and the times we had. I want you to keep the forgotten melody that we created. Don't ever change. Please stay the same as the Hiroto that I fell in love with. I love you. I love you so much. I love you to the moon and back. I love you always and forever. I love you. I love you. Goodbye, Hiroto- kun.

Love Always, Kirari

After reading the letter, Hiroto, whose widened eyes were drenched in tears, looked at Kirari, who was still lying on the blanket.

"Stop joking around, Kirari. It's not funny anymore," Hiroto said, still not accepting what was written in the letter as he shook Kirari's body in hopes of waking her up to tell him that the letter was just a silly joke.

He shook more and more, revealing the handkerchief that Kirari had been using. When he saw the splotches of blood after picking it up, the truth finally hit him, causing him to break down.

"Kirari?" Hiroto said, shaking her body again.

Hiroto lifted her and hugged her, feeling her cold body against his. He could no longer hear her heartbeat. The heartbeats that he loved to hear and the heartbeats that helped him create the forgotten melody were gone. The body he was cradling was just an empty shell. All life was gone.

Kirari was gone.

Hiroto's cries echoed everywhere as he held onto Kirari and the letter she left.

"Why? Don't leave me, Kirari! Kirari!" Hiroto cried.

"Please! Come back! Don't leave me, Kirari!"

Hiroto continuously begged as if Kirari could hear him.

"We still have to see the movie we worked on. We still have to finish the lyrics for the melody we created. We still have to go on our dates. We still have to get married. We still have to create our own family. We…still…have…to," Hiroto's voice faded as he ran out of things to say.

"Kirari, please! Come back! I need you! I love you, Kirari. I love you so much. So please…don't…leave me," Hiroto cried.

"Kirari!"


	34. Epilogue: Melody (Hiroto's Perspective)

**Forgotten Melody**

Epilogue: Melody (Hiroto's perspective)

It's been two years since her death. Everything's not the same and everything has changed. Nothing feels right anymore and I haven't moved on. I still have feelings for her. I still love her as much as I did when I first met her. Those feelings never faded away and they're still in my heart.

The movie 'Distant Hearts' that she, Seiji, Fubuki and I worked on was the number one movie in Japan. The movie sold more than one million dvd copies and all the theaters were sold out during the premiere. All the movie reviews were positive and we earned a five star rating. The movie became internationally popular, even getting translated into 25 languages. It was one of Japan's greatest successes, but she didn't even get to see it.

A year after her death, the Chairman finally proposed to Kumoi-san, who is now Fubuki's manager. They got married six months ago and are having their first child. They're naming their child 'Kirika' after her.

Seiji and I decided to go on our separate ways, causing SHIPS to disband three months after her death. Seiji is still an idol, but I am now separated. Seiji's career is going great, but he still hasn't recovered from losing her. However, there is a person that is trying to open up his heart once again.

Fubuki, who balances her time as the new CEO of the Todou Financial Group and the top female idol in our country, has been going out to eat with Seiji every other day to help him ease the pain of losing her. The once cold-hearted Fubuki is now one of the nicest idols there is in our country. Fubuki also came to her funeral and shed more tears than expected. I guess she really touched Fubuki's heart.

As for me, I left Japan to travel around the world. Right now, I'm back in Japan to visit my family. Why did I leave to travel around, you ask? Well, to make it simple, I left because everything reminds me of her. The beach, the ramen shop, the buildings. Everything makes me think of her. This place is full of memories that I made with her. I can't move on when everything in this place yells out her name.

I love her with all my heart. Even if she's now in a better place, I can't let go of her. My heart is bound to her heart and I may never be able to open up to love again.

Kirari, I know you're listening. I want to let you know how much I love you. The melody we created is still with me and there will come a day that the world will hear it. You'll always be inside my heart and there will never come a day where you're not in my mind. I love you forever and always. I love you. I love you. I promise that one day, we'll be together again. I love you, Kirari.

* * *

**Author's Note:  
**

Hello readers! Thank you so much for reading my story 'Forgotten Melody'. I had so much fun working on this, and yes, it made me weep some tears, too. Well, I just want to inform all of you who wants to read more fanfics on Kirarin Revolution that there will be a sequel to this story. I don't know when I'll publish the story for I've been really busy lately and have been visiting the hospital more often. (Yes, I'm sickly.) There is also a special chapter that is about the movie that Kirari, Hiroto, Seiji and Fubuki worked on. Remember 'Distant Hearts'? Well, that's going to be the special chapter. I hope you're looking forward to it. I'll publish it as soon as I can. Again, thank you so much for supporting my story. I hope y'all are looking forward to the sequel of 'Forgotten Melody'.

P.S. If y'all want me to alert y'all on when the sequel will be posted, I'm more than willing to message y'all if needed. Thank you! (:


	35. Special: Distant Hearts (Part 1)

**Forgotten Melody**

Special: Distant Hearts (Part 1)

The cherry blossoms gradually fell down from the tree branches as the wind passed by. A shiny, black car stopped in front of the school's gate, making everyone slow down to wait for the person to come out. The chauffeur came out and opened the door and escorted the girl inside.

"Isn't that Shizuka Daidouji?"

"That's the heiress of the Daidouji Financial Group!"

"Wow! She's a beauty!"

Shizuka Daidouji, heiress of the Daidouji family, stepped out of the car with full grace. Her dark blue hair flowed with the wind, making her look like a goddess. It was her first time going to school since she had been homeschooled until the first year of junior high school. Shizuka was adored by many boys, but received the opposite reaction from the girls. She was envied for her beauty and her elegance captivated the boys of the school. Due to her shyness and maturity, she wasn't able to make friends.

One day, a boy named Takeshi Sakaguchi gave her a hand-written note saying that he wanted to meet her behind the school building after school. During that same day, Yukino Irisu, Shizuka's class' princess, cried during lunch while being comforted by her friends. After school, Shizuka obediently walked to the back of the school building where he found Takeshi. Keeping a good distant away from him, she stood in front of him and waited for his words.

"I…umm…I…I…I like you! Daidouji-san!"

Shizuka wasn't surprised for she was used to it. Ever since the first day of school, she always had boys confessing to her. Some were sincere; others just wanted her to be aware of it.

"I'm sorry, but I'm not going to reciprocate the feelings that you have for me."

Rejected, Takeshi ran away, his heart broken. Shizuka watched him run away, feeling sorry that she rejected him. When she turned around, the group of girls that were comforting Yukino were behind her. They formed a circle around Shizuka, cornering her.

"It's your fault!" cried one of the girls.

"What is?" Shizuka asked in confusion.

"You're the reason why Yukino-chan was crying today!"

"How?"

"Sakaguchi-kun broke up with Yukino-chan just so he could confess to you!"

"You're a horrible person, Daidouji!"

After yelling horrible things at the innocent girl, they started pushing her around. Out of nowhere, Yukino came and stopped the girls from pushing her around. Shizuka thought that Yukino was going to help her, but she did something worse.

"You're a boyfriend stealer, Shizuka Daidouji! You don't belong here! Go away!" Yukino screamed, pushing Shizuka to the ground.

When Shizuka fell on her back, the girls including Yukino started kicking and stomping on her, making her feel hurt. Shizuka thought that nobody would rescue her. She thought that she was going to get hurt by them forever, but she thought wrong.

"Hey! Stop that!" a boy yelled.

"It's Iguchi-kun! Let's go!" the girls said as they escaped from the group of people that came to help Shizuka.

Shizuka, whose eyes were shut tight in pain, felt herself being lifted up from the ground. She could feel someone's strong arms and a strong chest that her head was leaning on. Since she was exhausted and hurt, she fell unconscious.

When she opened her eyes, Shizuka found herself in the school's infirmary surrounded by people she didn't know. However, she knew that they were good people for they helped her from Yukino's group earlier.

"I'm glad you're awake!" the girl with dark brown hair exclaimed.

"How are you feeling?" the boy that looked like a foreigner for his blonde hair asked.

"I'm okay, umm…thank you…for saving me," Shizuka shyly said.

"Don't thank us…thank her," the boy with the charcoal-colored hair said.

Shizuka looked at the 'her' that the boy was talking about. The girl with the dark brown hair and pretty blue eyes was blushing as she fidgeted with her fingers.

"She called for us when she heard Yukino's plan," the blonde-headed said.

"It's okay. It's nothing big. Anyways, I'm Maiko Fujiyama. He's Hiroki Sonozaki," Maiko smiled as she introduced herself and her friends.

"Nice to meet you," Hiroki, the blonde, said.

"He's Mamoru Iguchi," Maiko pointed at the boy with the black hair who was looking out the window as the sun started to set.

"I'm Shizuka Daidouji. I'm glad to meet all of you," Shizuka bowed, still sitting on the bed.

"Let's all be great friends, okay," Maiko, whose smile was so carefree and innocent, made all of them smile, too.

Ever since that day, they've all been friends. After learning more about each other and about their similarities, they all became the best of friends. They all ended up in the same class from the second year of their junior high school until their last year of being in high school.

On the summer of their third year in junior high school, they all decided to go on a vacation by the beach. They used the Daidouji Villa to stay in. During their vacation, they encountered heart-racing moments that helped them realize their feelings for each other. For example, Maiko and Hiroki almost shared a kiss by accident when Maiko fell on top of Hiroki from tripping while Shizuka and Mamoru took a nap together with Shizuka's head on Mamoru's shoulder.

That night, when all that can be heard were the crickets and the waves from the ocean, Shizuka and Maiko walked under the moonlight by the seashore for they couldn't fall asleep.

"Maiko," Shizuka said, breaking the silence between them.

"Hm?"

"Do you like someone?"

"N-n-no! W-w-why would you ask that?" Maiko panicked.

Shizuka didn't answer and kept walking while kicking some sand.

"Wh-wh-what about you? Do you l-l-like someone?" Maiko asked, still embarrassed.

Shizuka nodded, her face starting to turn as red as a tomato. Maiko was speechless for Shizuka boldness in revealing her true feelings to her.

"Let's reveal the person we like together, okay?" Shizuka smiled.

"But—"

"Ready…set," the dark-purple-haired Shizuka said.

Having no choice, Maiko pulled all her courage together and confessed to her best friend.

"I like Hiroki!" "I like Mamoru!"

After their confession, the two boys, who had been following them without their knowing, came out and also revealed their feelings to the two girls.

"I like you, too, Maiko!" Hiroki confessed.

"I like you, too, Shizuka!" Mamoru confessed, too.

All of their faces were red while their heartbeats raced and got faster and faster. Moments later, they decided to go back inside for it was getting late and they needed rest. On their way there, Mamoru and Shizuka held hands while Hiroki and Maiko interlocked arms. Since that night full of confessions, Shizuka and Mamoru had been a couple. The same went for Maiko and Hiroki, too.

On their last year in high school, they all decided to go to the same college to be able to stay with each other and not have to separate for a long time. They went home and shared their ideas with their parents, getting approvals. However, Mamoru got the opposite reaction.

"You're going to Germany to study, understood?" Mamoru's father, Hideaki announced as he signed papers for the company.

"But Father—"

"You're leaving the next day after graduation. No more questions asked. This is for your good and for the company's sake. You are the heir to the Iguchi Financial Group. You must learn more things about handling our company when you go to Germany. You're dismissed," Hideaki explained, not even looking up to make eye contact with his son.

Enraged and disappointed, Mamoru left the building and ran down the empty streets. No one was outside and there were barely any cars passing by. Mamoru continuously ran with no knowledge of where he was going. Suddenly, he ran onto someone, causing both of them to fall.

"I'm so sorry! It was all my fault! I'm so— Mamoru?" the surprised girl asked as she slowly got up.

"Maiko?" Mamoru looked up and saw Maiko's gorgeous face.

They walked down the playground across the road from them after helping each other get up and pick up whatever things they dropped.

"So, did something happen, Mamoru?" Maiko asked.

Mamoru nodded, looking at the shadows that he and Kirari casted on the ground.

"Oh," Maiko said, looking at her feet as she gently moved her swing.

After a moment of silence, Mamoru finally got the courage to tell Maiko what was wrong.

"I'm going to Germany for college," Mamoru said, clenching onto the swing.

"Are you serious?" Maiko exclaimed in shock.

Mamoru nodded his head once again.

"Please don't tell Shizuka or Hiroki. I don't want them to know."

"But—"

"Please…just don't," Mamoru begged, looking into Maiko's pearly blue eyes.

Since that day, Maiko and Mamoru had their own secret. Maiko kept her promise and didn't tell anyone about her and Mamoru's secret. Also, ever since that day, Maiko and Mamoru cared more about each other more than anybody else for they know that it was a priority to keep their secret undiscovered. Maiko and Mamoru slowly realized that they have feelings for each other, but kept it to themselves for they were aware of how little time they have left.

"To all the graduates, congratulations!" the school's student council president, Inori Tachibana exclaimed, ending her speech and the graduation ceremony.

Everyone dispersed and went on to take pictures with their friends or just say goodbye to their teachers. Maiko was with Hiroki, her head full of worry for she knew what Mamoru was going to do next.

Mamoru pulled Shizuka to an empty place far away from the crowds of students, parents, and teachers. The only thing that was accompanying them was a giant cherry blossom tree with its swaying flowers.

"Shizuka," Mamoru said, not wanting to do what he was going to.

"Yes?" Shizuka asked with a smile on her face, hoping that Mamoru was going to give her a present or a kiss.

"It's over."

Shizuka's smile turned into a frown as her eyes widened in shock. Mamoru left her alone by the cherry blossom tree for he didn't want to hear her cries or see her tears fall to the ground. Shizuka was heartbroken and speechless. She didn't know what to do or feel. She was in pain and she couldn't accept it.

The next day, Mamoru's bodyguards brought him to the airport without even giving him time to say goodbye to Maiko, who was the only person that knew about his departure. Meanwhile, Maiko was with Shizuka, comforting her. When she saw a plane in the sky, she knew who it was and shed a few tears with her best friend.


	36. Special: Distant Hearts (Part 2)

**Forgotten Melody**

Special: Distant Hearts (Part 2)

Mamoru took a deep breath as he walked out the airport. He was finally home. After six years, he was finally back in Japan. Even if the reason was because of his arranged marriage, he was still happy for he'd be able to see his friends again.

"Mamoru, I want you to meet your fiancée," Hideaki said as he let a girl in.

"Ma…mo…ru?"

Mamoru's eyes widened to see the girl that he left before going to Germany.

It was Shizuka.

"Shizu…ka."

Mamoru still couldn't believe that his fiancée was his ex-girlfriend. Shizuka, whose heart was broken by his fiancé on their last year in high school, was happy and scared at the same time. She still has feelings for him, but she's scared that he might not feel the same with her anymore.

"Well, it seems that you two already know each other. That's great," Hideaki smiled, bringing the two closer to each other.

Two weeks had passed since Mamoru came back and they already arranged their engagement party. Mamoru haven't had the time to visit his other friends especially the person that he loved. He couldn't wait to see her again, but he had no time.

The day of the engagement celebration arrived and many people came. Their old classmates came to congratulate them and the many leaders of financial groups and other companies also came. Mamoru felt like everybody was invited. He paid no attention to the guests for his mind was full of things he wanted to do with the girl that he loved.

"Congratulations, Mamoru."

Hearing a familiar voice, Mamoru turned around and found a girl wearing an elegant, indigo-colored, floor length, one-shoulder dress and curled dark brown hair. He remembered those blue eyes that he was staring into.

"Maiko," Mamoru said, his heart jumping for joy to see the person that he loved.

Maiko turned around and walked towards the balcony with Mamoru following her from behind. They stood by the arched marble rails of the balcony while looking out to the setting sun, remembering the memories they made before Mamoru left.

"Isn't it beautiful?" Maiko asked with a gentle smile on her face.

"Yeah," Mamoru replied.

The leaves rustled as the wind blew by, giving them light shivers from the nearing fall season. After a moment of silence, Maiko talked again.

"Did you get to see these sunsets in Germany?" Maiko asked.

"Yeah," Mamoru replied, still feeling tensed.

"Shizuka looked beautiful in that dress today."

"Yeah."

The wind blew by once again as the silence lingered one more time. Mamoru clenched his fist and took a deep breath to gather his courage to break the awkward atmosphere between them.

"Maiko!" he yelled.

Maiko turned to him and listened carefully to what he said.

"I love you, Maiko."

Mamoru's eyes were full of sincerity and braveness while Maiko looked like she was suffering instead of being surprised.

"Ever since I told you about how I was leaving for college, I've been in love with you. Since we both had our own secret, I paid more close attention to you," Mamoru announced.

"I fell in love with your sparkling blue eyes, your silky brown hair, your smooth skin, and your beautifully carved lips. I couldn't sleep because you were all I was thinking about, but it was too late when I realized my feelings for you. I was already in Germany when I realized that you were the reason for my sleepless nights. You were the reason why my heart would skip beats," Mamoru continued.

"I'm in love with you!" Mamoru shouted.

Maiko lowered her head as she looked at the tiled floor. She remembered all the memories she had with him. She remembered how she fell in love with him and how painful it was for her to watch him leave.

"How do you think I feel?" Maiko quietly said.

"How do you think I feel, Mamoru?" Maiko yelled, tears flowing out of her eyes.

"After you left, I felt like I was all alone…I didn't want to continue in life…All I had in my mind was you!" she shouted, her fists trembling.

"While you were gone, I accepted the fact that…that we weren't meant to be…Do you know how much that hurt?"

Maiko was releasing all the feelings that she had hidden for such a long time to Mamoru, who was dumbfounded and was shocked, not being able to say anything.

"It hurts so much, Mamoru…I was hurting the whole time you were gone! I didn't know what to do anymore! Sometimes…I'd wish you never told me that you were leaving…because after that, I treasured you more than anybody else…I didn't want you to leave more than anybody else!" Maiko continued, her heart reaching its limit.

She was hurt. Her heart was hurt. It wasn't easy for her to come to Mamoru's engagement party especially since the party wasn't for him and her. It was for him and Shizuka. It was for her best friends.

"Up until now, it still hurts, Mamoru…I don't know if my heart will ever be fixed, but I know we can't be together…Even if it hurts to let go...I'm going to do it, but I want you to remember this," Maiko paused as more tears came and more breeze blew by.

"I loved you with all my heart."

Mamoru trembled as he realized how much pain he gave to Maiko. He slowly took small steps to Maiko to try and comfort her, but he was scared because he didn't want to break her. He could feel how fragile she was and he was aware that Maiko was in too much pain. He, too, was in pain, but Maiko's was greater.

"Goodbye," Maiko whispered as she walked back in, leaving Mamoru out in the balcony.

Realizing that he had lost the most important thing to him, Mamoru fell on his knees and cried tears of sorrow and pain. He didn't want things to end that way. He was heartbroken and was in misery. All he could think of that time was Maiko. His heart and mind were full of Maiko's beautiful face. However, he lost her. She's gone from him forever.

Days after Mamoru's engagement celebration, he found out about Maiko and Hiroki's engagement. He never thought that they're all still with the same people they were in a relationship with, but he knew things had changed. Maiko's feeling changed. His feelings changed. Everything changed.

Mamoru and Maiko never talked after that day they confessed their feelings for each other for they were too busy planning their weddings. Deep inside, they wanted to think that it was their wedding, but they had to face the reality whether they liked it or not.

Days before Maiko and Hiroki's wedding, Hiroki was brought to the hospital because of his disease. Hiroki was diagnosed with cancer two weeks after Mamoru left for Germany. Hiroki received treatment, but his health would deteriorate from time to time.

"This is the reason why I don't want to leave him," Maiko said as she watched Hiroki peacefully sleep.

"I want to give him the happiness he deserves even if it means that I can't have mine."

Mamoru now understood more about how he fell for Maiko. Maiko was kind and gentle. Not only was she beautiful, but she cared for the others. She didn't care what will happen to her. She only cared about what will happen to others. She was sacrificing her own happiness for Hiroki's happiness.

"I was supposed to be your fiancée, you know?" Maiko revealed with a smile of pain on her face.

Before Mamoru could talk, she explained to him how she asked Shizuka to be his fiancée instead because she was aware of how much Shizuka still loved him. Maiko also wanted to be there by Hiroki's side and not leave him.

"That's why I fell in love with you, Maiko," Mamoru smiled before he left the room.

Without their knowing, Hiroki heard the whole conversation and felt horrible for Maiko, the person he loved, was suffering because of him. He didn't want it to be that way. He wanted Maiko to be happy. He didn't want to see her tears.

Weeks later, Maiko and Hiroki's wedding day still delayed, Hiroki's health started worsening. Hiroki requested the doctor to not tell Maiko or Mamoru about his weakening. One night, when Hiroki woke up to find Maiko crying in the middle of her sleep as she muttered Mamoru's name, he was aware that it was time for him to go. He didn't want to see anymore tears coming out of Maiko's eyes. He was in pain, too.

Days later, after strangely saying 'I love you' to Maiko for millions of times each day, Hiroki asked the doctor to pull him out of his life support. Hiroki explained to the doctor that he was in pain and couldn't do it anymore, so he was pulled out of support and slowly passed away. Maiko was in greater pain after losing an important person in her life. She cried for days and nights, yearning to see Hiroki again and regretting everything she had done for him.

After a period of time, Mamoru and Shizuka got married and started a family. Maiko moved on with her life even though she was still mourning for Hiroki. She focused more on her work as her family's company's soon-to-be CEO. Maiko, who was heartbroken twice, used work as a distraction.

Mamoru still had feelings for Maiko, but he slowly fell back in love with Shizuka again. He realized how much distance had done to all of them. He realized how much their hearts were so far away from each other even though they were all together. Their distant hearts caused many pains not only to two of them, but to all of them.

* * *

**Author's note:**

Hey, readers! I hope y'all enjoyed the Special that I included. It wasn't supposed to be that long, but I guess I had to make it that long to give y'all a better story. Anyways, I'm really sorry that the Special didn't come out as early as I planned it to get published because I was brought to the hospital last Monday because I got sick again. I was asleep for two days straight and was really weak on Thursday. Then, I rested some more and was asleep for a whole day. So, I started working on the Special on Saturday. I'm still in the hospital, but don't worry, I'm already working on the plot for the sequel of 'Forgotten Melody'. Well, I hope y'all enjoyed reading 'Forgotten Melody' and the Special, 'Distant Hearts'. Again, I'm willing to message the people who want to be alerted on when the sequel will be published. I'll try to do it as soon as I can. Thank you for all the support! Love always, Mayumi Selnia. (:


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